The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has indicated that, following the Full Federal Court's decision in McDermott Industries (Aust) P/L v FC of T[2005] FCAFC 67, affected taxpayers may request for refunds of royalty withholding tax. By way of background, in the McDermott case, a Singaporean resident leased barges to an Australian resident for use in Australian waters. The Full Federal Court decided, in favour of the taxpayer, that the Singaporean resident had a permanent establishment (PE) in Australia under Art. 4(3)(b) of the Australia-Singapore income tax treaty, as substantial equipment was used in Australia by, for, or under contract. The...