UK-Belarus tax treaty enters into force

The UK-Belarus tax treaty, signed September 26, 2017, entered into force on July  27, the UK government announced today. The new treaty replaces a 1985 tax treaty between the UK and the USSR, which applied to both Belarus and Turkmenistan.

The new  UK-Belarus tax treaty will take effect in the UK and in Belarus for withholding tax purposes for amounts paid or credited after October 1, the UK government said.

It takes effect in the UK for income tax and capital gains purposes for tax years beginning on or after April 6, 2019.  For corporate tax, if takes effect for financial years beginning on or after April 1, 2019. For Belarus, the treaty takes effect for taxes other than withholding tax after January 1, 2019.

The treaty follows the OECD Model (2014) with some adjustments, notes TPA Global in a report prepared shortly after the treaty’s signing.