Some of the income derived from a corporation incorporated in the Bahamas was effectively connected with the conduct by it of a business in the United States. However, Norsk paid no U.S. tax on barge rental payments received by it, including barge rental payments received from the Canadian taxpayer, by virtue of the exemption for international shipping companies contained in s. 883 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
Norsk was liable to U.S. tax by reason of being "engaged in a trade or business" in the U.S. rather than on the basis of having a place of management in the U.S. Furthermore, liability for income effectively connected to a business engaged in the U.S. was not a "criterion of a similar nature" to those listed in Article IV, para. 1, of the Canada-U.S. Income Tax Convention because the other criteria entailed being subject to a comprehensive tax liability on the entity's world-wide income. Accordingly, Norsk was not a U.S. resident for purposes of that convention, with the result that rentals paid by the taxpayer to Norsk were not eligible for a reduced rate of withholding tax.