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Article 1 General Scope
- 1.
- This Convention shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States, except as otherwise provided in the Convention.
- 2.
-
The Convention shall not restrict in any manner any exclusion, exemption, deduction, credit, or other allowance now or hereafter accorded:
- a)
- by the laws of either Contracting State; or
- b)
- by any other agreement between the Contracting States.
- 3.
- A Contracting State may tax its residents (as determined under Article 4 (Resident)) and its citizens, including former citizens, according to the laws of that State as if the Convention had not come into effect.
- 4.
-
The provisions of paragraph 3 shall not affect:
- a)
- the benefits conferred by a Contracting State under paragraph 2 of Article 9 (Associated Enterprises), under paragraphs 1(b) and 4 of Article 19 (Pensions, Annuities, Alimony, and Child Support), and under Articles 24 (Relief From Double Taxation), 25 (Non-Discrimination), and 26 (Mutual Agreement Procedure); and
- b)
- the benefits conferred by a Contracting State under Articles 20 (Government Service), 21 (Students, Trainees, Teachers and Researchers), and 28 (Diplomatic Agents and Consular Officers), upon individuals who are neither citizens of, nor lawful permanent residents in, that State.
Article 2 Taxes Covered
- 1.
-
The existing taxes to which this Convention shall apply are:
- a)
- in the United States: the Federal income taxes imposed by the Internal Revenue Code (but excluding the accumulated earnings tax, the personal holding company tax, and social security taxes), and the excise taxes imposed with respect to the investment income of private foundations (hereafter referred to as ``U.S. tax'');
- b)
- in Slovakia: the income taxes imposed by the income tax law, and the tax on immovable property (real property tax) (hereafter referred to as ``Slovak tax'').
- 2.
- The Convention shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes which are imposed after the date of signature of the Convention in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of any significant changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws and of any official published material concerning the application of the Convention, including explanations, regulations, rulings, or judicial decisions.
Article 3 General Definitions
- 1.
-
For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context otherwise requires:
- a)
- the term ``Contracting State'' means either the United States or Slovakia as the context requires;
- b)
- the term ``United States'' means the United States of America, but does not include Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, or any other United States possession or territory. When used in a geographical sense, the term ``United States'' includes the territorial sea and the seabed and subsoil of the adjacent area over which the United States may exercise rights in accordance with international law and in which the laws relating to U.S. tax are in force;
- c)
- the term Slovakia means the Slovak Republic.
- d)
- the term ``person'' includes an individual, an estate, a trust, a partnership, a company, and any other body of persons;
- e)
- the term ``company'' means any body corporate for tax purposes;
- f)
- the terms ``enterprise of a Contracting State'' and ``enterprise of the other Contracting State'' mean, respectively, an enterprise carried on by a resident of a Contracting State and an enterprise carried on by a resident of the other Contracting State;
- g)
- the term ``international traffic'' means any transport by a ship or aircraft, except when such transport is solely between places in the other Contracting State;
- h)
-
the term ``competent authority'' means:
- (i)
- in the United States, the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate; and
- (ii)
- in the case of Slovakia, the Minister of Finance or his authorized representative.
- 2.
- As regards the application of the Convention by a Contracting State any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires or the competent authorities agree to a common meaning pursuant to the provisions of Article 26 (Mutual Agreement Procedure), have the meaning which it has under the laws of that State concerning the taxes to which the Convention applies.
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