Taxation (Multinational—Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) (Qualified GloBE Taxes) Determination 2025

The instrument uses a small set of technical labels drawn from the Rules and applies them to specified jurisdictions and dates. The main concepts are:

• Qualified IIR. Section 5 specifies that "a tax that is imposed under an IIR of a jurisdiction mentioned in Column 1" of the s 5 table "is specified as a Qualified IIR, for the Fiscal Year starting on or after the date specified in Column 2 of that item and each later Fiscal Year" (s 5). The operative cross-reference is paragraph 10-15(a) of the Rules; the instrument does not itself define "IIR" or the legal consequences of being a Qualified IIR, but s 4 expressly adopts the Rules' meanings for expressions.

• Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (QDMTT). Section 6 performs an analogous function for domestic minimum top-up taxes. It specifies that "a tax that is a Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax, and is imposed under a law of a jurisdiction mentioned in Column 1" of the s 6 table "is specified as a Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax" for fiscal years starting on or after the listed dates. The cross-reference is paragraph 10-15(b) of the Rules. The instrument again does not define the substantive content of a Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax beyond referring to Article 10.1 of the GloBE Rules in the definition of Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (s 4).

• QDMTT Safe Harbour status. Section 7 specifies which jurisdictions' Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Taxes "have QDMTT Safe Harbour status for the Fiscal Year starting on or after" the listed dates, for the purposes of subsection 8-200(2) of the Rules. The instrument therefore links the label "QDMTT Safe Harbour status" to particular national laws and fiscal years.

• Temporal framing. All three operative sections use the same temporal framing: listing a jurisdiction together with a date for "Fiscal Years starting on or after" that date. The commencement provision (s 2(1)) makes the whole instrument effective the day after registration, but the practical legal coverage for any particular tax is controlled by the date in the relevant table entry.

• Authority and cross-reference. Section 3 states the instrument is made under the Taxation (Multinational,Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) Rules 2024. Section 4 contains the key definitional note: expressions have the same meaning as in the Rules in force from time to time, per paragraph 13(1)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003.

Operationally the instrument is a declaratory, schedule-style instrument: it does not create new substantive tax obligations, but it labels specified foreign or domestic taxes so that the Rules will treat them in particular ways. Because the substantive meaning of those labels is supplied by the Rules, the instrument's practical effect depends on the content of the Rules referenced (paragraphs 10-15(a), 10-15(b), subsection 8-200(2), and Article 10.1 of the GloBE Rules as incorporated by the Rules), and on the scope and design of the taxes that exist under the domestic laws of the listed jurisdictions (each entry says the tax must be "imposed under an IIR" or "imposed under a law of a jurisdiction").

The instrument affects parties only indirectly, by changing how the Rules will treat particular taxes. It does not itself impose tax liabilities or procedural duties; rather it determines which jurisdictions' IIRs or Domestic Minimum Top-up Taxes are to be treated as "qualified" or as in a QDMTT Safe Harbour for the purposes of the Rules (see ss 5-7). Key affected groups and decision-makers are as follows:

• Multinational enterprises and their advisers. The principal group impacted will be multinational enterprise (MNE) groups that fall within the scope of the Rules, because the instrument affects whether a tax imposed in a listed jurisdiction is recognised under the Rules as a Qualified IIR or QDMTT. This determination will be relevant to how MNEs apply the Rules to calculate top-up taxes, IIR attribution, or safe-harbour consequences, because the instrument's labels are operative "for the purposes of" specific paragraphs and subsections of the Rules (see ss 5-7).

• Tax administrations and domestic legislators of listed jurisdictions. The instrument names specific jurisdictions and dates (for example, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, etc., with differing fiscal-year start dates). Tax authorities and legislators in those jurisdictions should be aware that taxes they impose that meet the Rules' substantive definitions will be treated as Qualified IIRs or QDMTTs from the stated fiscal years. The instrument therefore communicates Australia’s official recognition of those jurisdictions' measures for the Rules' purposes.

• The Australian Treasury and decision-makers. The instrument is made by the Assistant Minister and is an instrument under the Rules (s 3). The instrument shows the exercise of delegated authority under the Rules to declare which foreign or domestic tax measures are "qualified" for the Rules.

• Legal and compliance teams. Those tasked with compliance under the Rules must map the instrument’s tables to the actual fiscal-year starts of entities in MNE groups to determine whether, for a given fiscal year, a jurisdiction's tax is "specified" as a Qualified IIR or QDMTT, or has QDMTT Safe Harbour status (see s 5-7 and the "Fiscal Years starting on or after" column wording).

• Entities in jurisdictions not listed. The instrument affects entities in non-listed jurisdictions because omission from the lists means their IIRs or domestic minimum top-up taxes are not "specified" by this instrument; that omission may have consequences under the Rules if the Rules condition treatment on a tax being "specified" (the instrument does not itself state those consequences, it merely supplies the specification).

In short, the instrument determines which jurisdictions' taxes receive label-status under the Rules. Entities that are subject to the Rules should treat the specified taxes as Qualified IIRs or QDMTTs (and as safe harbour where applicable) from the listed fiscal-year start dates; entities operating in jurisdictions omitted from the tables should note that this instrument does not confer such status on their jurisdiction for the listed labels. See ss 5-7 and s 4 for definitional cross-reference to the Rules.

This instrument itself imposes no duties or rights in the sense of creating new taxpayer obligations, payment liabilities, or specific enforcement mechanisms. Rather, it assigns labels that determine how the Rules interact with particular tax laws. Key points about duties and rights insofar as they are implicated by the instrument are:

• No standalone obligations created. The Determination contains no sections that levy taxes, create offences, or set out compliance mechanics. The instrument's operative effect is declaratory: it "specifies" a tax as a Qualified IIR (s 5), as a Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax (s 6), or as having QDMTT Safe Harbour status (s 7) for specified fiscal years. As a result, the primary duties and rights remain those contained in the Rules and in the underlying domestic tax laws of the relevant jurisdictions.

• Interaction with Rules-based duties. Because the instrument operates "for the purposes of" specific provisions of the Rules (paragraph 10-15(a) and (b) and subsection 8-200(2)), the duties that change are those that the Rules impose based on a tax being so specified. The instrument therefore affects rights and duties indirectly by determining whether the Rules will treat particular payments or levies as Qualified IIRs or QDMTTs. The content of those duties is located in the Rules, not in this Determination (see s 5-7 and s 4 for cross-reference).

• Temporal effect on rights/duties. Each listed jurisdiction is associated with an effective date expressed as "Fiscal Years starting on or after" a calendar date. That date governs the first fiscal year for which the specification applies; consequently, the timing of an MNE's fiscal year start will determine when Rules-based duties or rights that depend on the label become relevant. The instrument also includes a general commencement clause: "The whole of this instrument" commences "the day after this instrument is registered" (s 2(1)), meaning the Determination becomes a legislative instrument from that registration point, but the practical coverage for any specific tax follows the table dates in ss 5-7.

• Documentation and evidentiary implications. Because the instrument specifies that a tax must be "imposed under an IIR" (s 5) or "imposed under a law" (s 6), compliance with Rules-based duties that depend on the specification will require evidence that the tax meets the Rules' substantive definitions and that it is in force in the listed jurisdiction for the specified fiscal year. The Determination itself does not state what evidence suffices; those procedural and evidential duties are likely addressed by the Rules and by ordinary tax-administration processes.

• No penalty or enforcement provisions in this instrument. Enforcement of duties that follow from the Rules will be undertaken under the Rules and domestic laws; the Determination includes no standalone enforcement or penalty clauses. See "Penalties and enforcement" below.

To summarise: the Determination does not independently create duties or rights; it supplies a mapping that allocates label-status under the Rules, and duties and rights that arise from those labels are set out in, and enforced under, the Rules and the underlying tax statutes (the instrument relies on the Rules for definitions, per s 4).

The Determination contains no express penalty, sanction, criminal offence, or administrative enforcement mechanism. It operates as a schedule-style instrument that designates which taxes will be treated as Qualified IIRs, Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Taxes, or QDMTT Safe Harbour for the purposes of the Rules (ss 5-7). The instrument therefore does not itself create or enforce tax liabilities; enforcement mechanisms and penalties, if any, are those contained in the Rules 2024 and in the underlying tax statutes of the relevant jurisdictions.

Specific points to note from the text:

• Absence of penal provisions. The Determination contains neither penalty clauses nor references to enforcement agencies or sanctioning procedures. It is confined to naming jurisdictions and dates (s 5-7).

• Enforcement locus is the Rules and domestic laws. The instrument is expressly made under the Rules (s 3) and adopts the Rules' definitions (s 4). Consequently, any adjustments, assessments, or penalties that arise because a tax is treated (or not treated) as a Qualified IIR or QDMTT will be administered under the Rules and under the domestic statutory schemes that implement the Rules and the underlying taxes. The Determination is a categorisation tool for the Rules; it does not itself create penalties.

• Administrative consequence for treatment under the Rules. Because the instrument supplies labels used in the Rules (including a reference to subsection 8-200(2) for QDMTT Safe Harbour status, s 7), the practical effect for any penalties or compliance risk will flow from how the Rules allocate obligations, credits, or top-up tax liabilities when a tax is treated as Qualified. Those consequences are not set out in the Determination.

• Potential compliance and dispute implications. The Determination may influence administrative audits or disputes only insofar as the Rules and domestic tax administrations rely on the Determination to determine whether a tax is considered "specified" under the Rules for a given fiscal year. The Determination therefore may be referenced in administrative communications or objections under the Rules, but the Determination itself contains no dispute-resolution or penalty procedures.

In practice, advisers and taxpayers should treat the Determination as an authoritative Australian schedule-setting exercise under the Rules: it will be relevant evidence in any administrative process that depends on whether a tax is "specified" under the Rules, but any enforcement actions or penalties will be pursued under the Rules and the relevant statutory and administrative frameworks, not under this Determination itself. See ss 3, 4, 5-7 and s 2 (commencement).

The Determination is expressly integrated with the Taxation (Multinational,Global and Domestic Minimum Tax) Rules 2024 and, by cross-reference, with definitions drawn from those Rules and the broader GloBE architecture. The instrument also engages the Legislation Act 2003 for interpretive cross-references. Key points on interaction:

• Made under and subordinate to the Rules. Section 3 states the instrument is made under the Rules 2024. Section 4 confirms that expressions have the same meaning in the instrument as in the Rules, "as in force from time to time" (and cites paragraph 13(1)(b) of the Legislation Act 2003). Consequently, the Determination operates as an instrument that feeds into the Rules' machinery: it supplies "specified" status for particular taxes that the Rules refer to in particular paragraphs and subsections (10-15(a) and (b), and subsection 8-200(2)).

• Reliance on external legal definitions. The definition of Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax in s 4 refers to "the meaning of Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax in Article 10.1 of the GloBE Rules." The Determination therefore sits within a network of international-rule terminology (Article references), Australian Rules, and domestic law. The Determination does not itself define these international or Rules-derived concepts; instead, it uses them as legal labels.

• Interaction with domestic laws of listed jurisdictions. The operative language in ss 5 and 6 is that a tax "imposed under an IIR of a jurisdiction" or "imposed under a law of a jurisdiction" is specified as Qualified for the relevant fiscal years. That language directly connects the Determination to the design and operation of each listed jurisdiction's domestic statutes. Whether a tax in a listed jurisdiction meets the Rules' substantive definitions for an IIR or Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax therefore depends on that jurisdiction's laws and their alignment with the Rules' definitions, even though the Determination itself simply recognises those taxes for a Rules purpose.

• Temporal alignment and corporate fiscal years. The tables in ss 5-7 use "Fiscal Years starting on or after" calendar dates. How those calendar dates map to an MNE group's accounting or fiscal years will interact with the Rules' timing rules and with domestic year-end choices. The Determination provides the starting points for specification, but the practical effect for any particular entity will depend on how its fiscal-year start aligns with the date in the relevant table entry.

• No conflict-resolution mechanism in the Determination. The instrument does not contain provisions on how to resolve inconsistency between the Rules and a listed jurisdiction's domestic law; it assumes the Rules' definitions will be applied to the taxes imposed under the named jurisdictions' laws. Any conflicts about whether a given tax meets the Rules' substantive test will depend on interpretation of the Rules and the domestic law, not on text within this Determination.

• Publication and non-legally-binding table notes. Section 2(2) expressly states that any information in column 3 of the commencement table is not part of the instrument and may be edited in published versions. This provision signals that published materials may contain editorial or explanatory content that does not carry legal effect, which is relevant when practitioners consult government-published versions.

In short, the Determination is a linking instrument: it ties specific taxes under specific domestic laws to labels used in the Rules and to particular fiscal-year start dates. Its legal interactions are therefore tri-partite: with the Rules (primary), with the GloBE definitions it incorporates (via Article references), and with the domestic statutes of the listed jurisdictions (because the taxes must be "imposed under" those laws). See ss 3, 4, 5-7, and s 2(2) for the publication note.

The Determination itself contains internal notes about amendment handling and records the date it was made (20 August 2025). The instrument's own amendment history is limited at the time of making: the text includes the single commencement table and three tables for ss 5-7 listing jurisdictions and first fiscal years. Specific points from the instrument:

• Original instrument date and commencement. The instrument is dated 20 August 2025 (instrument header) and s 2(1) provides that "The whole of this instrument" commences the day after registration. The tables in ss 5-7 each specify the first fiscal years for which each jurisdiction's taxes are to be treated as Qualified IIRs, Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Taxes, or as having QDMTT Safe Harbour status.

• Instruction about table amendment. Section 2 includes a legislative drafting note: "This table relates only to the provisions of this instrument as originally made. It will not be amended to deal with any later amendments of this instrument." This indicates that the commencement table in the instrument is a record of the instrument as originally made, and published versions may not be used to track later amendments to the instrument itself. Section 2(2) also clarifies that any information in column 3 of the commencement table is not part of the instrument and may be edited in published versions.

• No further amendment clauses. The instrument does not include specific provisions for later amendment processes, transitional cut-overs, or automatic updates tied to changes in other jurisdictions' laws. Any modification to the lists or the dates would require a new legislative instrument or an amendment instrument made under the Rules 2024, subject to the normal legislative-instrument procedures (the instrument does not itself set those procedures out).

• No catalogue of prior versions included. The Determination text does not include a revision history or a list of prior determinations for the same purpose; it stands as the instrument "as originally made" with the included tables. If the government intends to update the list of jurisdictions, it will need to do so by making a further determination under the Rules; the Determination does not effect such changes itself.

For practitioners: treat the tables in this Determination as the authoritative specification as at its registration date. Monitor for separate amending instruments under the Rules 2024 if additional jurisdictions are to be added or dates varied; the instrument indicates that present published editorial content might change, but that column 3 content (if any) is not legally binding (s 2(2)). See instrument header and s 2 for these points.

The Determination contains no litigation history, does not cite case law, and does not reference any judicial or tribunal decisions. The text is a closed administrative designation: ss 5-7 list jurisdictions and effective fiscal-year starts; there are no references to prior litigation, judicial interpretation, or dispute outcomes.

Specific observations grounded in the instrument:

• No cases or disputes cited. The instrument itself does not name any cases or administrative determinations and contains no section setting out prior legal challenges or their outcomes. Its content is limited to declarations made under delegated authority and the tables of jurisdictions.

• Status as a legislative instrument. The Determination is made under the Rules 2024 (s 3) and is registered as a legislative instrument (s 2(1) commencement the day after registration). Any litigation relevant to its operation would therefore be in the context of judicial or administrative review of legislative instruments or of the application of the Rules, rather than in the Determination text itself. The Determination does not mention legal avenues or prior litigation.

• Potential loci for dispute are external to the instrument. While the Determination supplies labels used by the Rules, any disputes about whether a particular foreign or domestic tax qualifies under the Rules will require interpretation of the Rules and of the domestic law that imposes the tax. Because the Determination adopts the Rules' definitions by reference (s 4), litigation would concern those definitions and their application to particular facts; the Determination is an administrative act that sets which jurisdictions are specified and the dates on which specification begins.

• No listed litigation record to consult. Practitioners seeking sentence-level authority or precedential discussions must look to the Rules, associated explanatory materials, and any future case law addressing the Rules' operation. The Determination itself provides no litigation history or legal argument.

In short: there is no litigation history recorded in this Determination. Any litigation relevant to the Determination’s legal effects will arise from disputes about the Rules or the domestic laws of the listed jurisdictions, not from content within this Determination. See generally ss 3-7 and s 4 for how the Determination interlocks with the Rules.

The Determination is compact, but several practical pitfalls and attention points emerge from its structure and wording. These are concrete interpretive and operational issues that advisers and taxpayers should track, each tied directly to the instrument’s text:

• Label does not equal substantive definition. The instrument specifies that a tax "imposed under an IIR" or "imposed under a law" of a listed jurisdiction is "specified" as a Qualified IIR or QDMTT for Rules purposes (ss 5-6). It does not itself define what an IIR or a Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax is; those substantive definitions are located in the Rules (and in the GloBE Article referenced in s 4). Practitioners must therefore map the listed domestic tax to the Rules' substantive definitions before assuming the tax will receive the Rules' consequences.

• Omitted jurisdictions and partial listings. The three tables are not identical. Some jurisdictions appear in the Qualified IIR table but not in the QDMTT table (for example Korea and Japan appear in s 5 but not in s 6), and some appear in the QDMTT table but not in the Qualified IIR table (for example Barbados appears in s 6 and s 7 but not s 5). Guernsey has a later start date (1 January 2025) in ss 5-7. These mismatches mean that presence in one list does not imply presence in another. Advisers must check the specific table relevant to the Rules provision they are applying.

• Fiscal-year-start dating nuance. Each table entry is effective for "Fiscal Years starting on or after" a specified date (ss 5-7). That phrasing makes the entity's fiscal-year start the determinative factor for whether the specification applies. Entities with non-calendar fiscal years need to map their own fiscal-year start precisely to the dates in the tables to determine applicability. The instrument itself does not explain how to handle fiscal years that straddle dates or entities that change their year-ends.

• Commencement versus fiscal-year effect. Section 2(1) provides that "The whole of this instrument" commences the day after registration. That commencement makes the instrument legally effective as of registration, but the substantive reach vis-à-vis particular taxes depends on the fiscal-year start dates in the tables. Do not equate registration date with the date a tax becomes specified for a given entity,use the "Fiscal Years starting on or after" dates in ss 5-7.

• Column 3 editorial matter is not law. Section 2(2) states any information in column 3 of the commencement table is not part of the instrument and may be edited in published versions. When consulting government-published versions, confirm that only the instrument text (columns 1 and 2 of the relevant tables in ss 5-7) carries legal weight.

• Safe Harbour status is specific and limited. Section 7 ties "QDMTT Safe Harbour status" to the jurisdictions and dates in its table "for the purposes of subsection 8-200(2) of the Rules." That status only exists in relation to that subsection; the Determination does not create a broader safe-harbour effect beyond what the Rules provide when that status is present.

• Reliance on external legal change. The Determination assumes the continued existence and substantive character of the underlying domestic taxes in the listed jurisdictions. If a listed jurisdiction changes its IIR or domestic minimum top-up tax design, the Determination does not automatically update; any change in qualification for Rules purposes will depend on the Rules' substantive tests and any new determinations the Australian Executive makes.

• No guidance on evidence. The Determination does not state what documentation or proof is required to demonstrate that a relevant tax is "imposed under" the law of a listed jurisdiction. Advisers should assume that evidentiary questions will be resolved under the Rules and ordinary tax-administration practice, not by this Determination.

• Names and spellings are as printed. The instrument records jurisdiction names as presented (for example "Türkiye"). Practitioners should rely on the exact list entries in the text when mapping jurisdictions.

These are not hypothetical; each follows from the Determination’s text and structure (see ss 2-7 and s 4). Advisers should avoid assuming that presence in one table imports other statuses, and should pay careful attention to fiscal-year-start mapping, documentary proof of the tax’s legal basis, and the fact that the Determination is a labeling instrument that delegates substantive meaning to the Rules.

Compliance with the consequences of this Determination is primarily about operational mapping and evidence because the Determination itself only supplies label-status under the Rules. The steps below are practical measures, grounded in the Determination’s terms, for advisers and compliance teams preparing to apply the Rules to MNE groups:

1. Map entities’ fiscal-year starts to the table dates. For each MNE entity, identify the fiscal-year starting date and check whether that date falls on or after the date listed for the jurisdiction in the relevant table (s 5 for Qualified IIR, s 6 for Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax, s 7 for QDMTT Safe Harbour). The Determination’s operative language is "Fiscal Years starting on or after" the specified date; that phrase controls applicability.

2. Verify the legal source of the tax. The Determination requires that a tax be "imposed under an IIR" (s 5) or "imposed under a law of a jurisdiction" (s 6). For each tax claimed to be Qualified, collect the statutory and regulatory provisions in the listed jurisdiction that impose the tax, and create contemporaneous documentary evidence that the tax was in force for the fiscal year in question.

3. Establish that the tax meets the Rules’ substantive definitions. The Determination adopts definitions from the Rules (s 4). You must therefore test whether the domestic tax meets the Rules' substantive definition of an IIR or Domestic Minimum Top-up Tax. The Determination does not supply that test itself; use the Rules to perform the substantive assessment, and document the legal analysis.

4. Treat safe-harbour entries as rule-specific. If a jurisdiction appears in s 7, its QDMTT has "QDMTT Safe Harbour status" for the listed fiscal years for the purposes of subsection 8-200(2) of the Rules. Determine whether subsection 8-200(2) applies to your Rule calculation and, if so, follow the Rules’ procedures for safe harbour. The Determination does not explain the operational mechanics of the safe harbour; those are found in the Rules.

5. Maintain contemporaneous records. For audit and dispute purposes, retain copies of the Determination, the relevant domestic law provisions from the listed jurisdiction, transactional records, and fiscal-year mappings demonstrating that the tax was imposed in the listed jurisdiction and applies to the fiscal year in question.

6. Be alert to table mismatches. Because the s 5, s 6, and s 7 tables are not identical, ensure you consult the correct table for the Rules provision you are applying. Presence in the Qualified IIR table does not necessarily mean presence in the QDMTT table or in the safe-harbour table.

7. Confirm instrument registration and publication. Section 2(1) makes the instrument effective the day after registration. Confirm the registration date and ensure that the version you rely on is the officially registered instrument; be aware that published column 3 materials, if present, are not part of the instrument per s 2(2).

8. Monitor for amendments. The instrument contains no automatic updating mechanism. If a jurisdiction changes its domestic law or the Australian Executive publishes an amending determination, update your compliance mapping accordingly. The Determination itself notes its tables are "as originally made" (s 2), signalling that further changes will be made by subsequent instruments if needed.

9. Coordinate with tax authorities when necessary. Where there is ambiguity about whether a particular domestic levy in a listed jurisdiction meets the Rules' substantive test, consider engaging with the relevant tax authority or seeking formal guidance under applicable mutual agreement procedures if available; the Determination does not provide dispute resolution steps.

10. Record the chain of legal authority. For each compliance position, record that the Determination is made under the Rules (s 3), that expressions adopt the Rules’ meanings (s 4), and cite the specific table and item that supplies the relevant specification (s 5-7).

These steps flow directly from the Determination’s operative mechanics: the instrument assigns label-status for Rules purposes, timestamped by fiscal-year start dates, and relies on the Rules for substantive meaning (ss 3-7 and s 4). Compliance therefore requires mapping, documentary evidence, and application of the Rules’ substantive tests.