Bangladesh and India are close to sign a tax treaty

www.bethelfinance.com
India and Bangladesh are close to signing three agreements, including a protocol to amend the avoidance of double taxation treaty, which is expected to give a major boost to bilateral trade, said officials at the Indian foreign ministry yesterday.
The most important of the three agreements is the Double Taxation Avoidance Taxation Convention protocol, which will amend the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. The agreement has been in place since 1991.
Considerable progress have been done on the three deals since last Tuesday's meeting of the Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) here, where Bangladesh Foreign Secretary Mijarul Quayes and his Indian counterpart Ranjan Mathai led their respective delegations.
At the meeting, Mathai conveyed India's willingness to see early signing of the three agreements.
New Delhi has taken a positive view of the trajectory the India-Bangladesh relations has taken of late, including a flurry of meetings on infrastructure in June to examine infrastructures at land customs stations and the proposed Border Haats.
A meeting to review the line of credit was held last month in New Delhi with the purpose of fast-tracking implementation of the projects. Shipping secretaries of the two countries decided to renew the protocol on inland water transit and trade by a further two years.
The two sides are cooperating in facilitating the return of mortal remains of the freedom fighters of 1971. Recently, a delegation from Bangladesh was in India to discuss modalities with concerned ministries and state governments.
The joint technical committee, set up to explore the possibility of electricity trade between Bangladesh and India and to recommend associate transmission systems on both sides of the border, met recently.
India regards the outcome of these meetings and the sustained engagement between the two sides on substantive and specific issues of mutual concerns as having added a momentum to the bilateral relations.

India, Indonesia discuss South China Sea, ink tax treaty friday

www.bethelfinance.com

Indonesia and India inked a treaty on avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and discussed strategic bilateral and regional issues.
External Affairs Minister SM Krishna and his Indonesian counterpart Marty M Natalegawa co-chaired the fourth meeting of the India-Indonesia Joint Commission and identified specific areas in which both countries would be working together to take the relationship to the next high level.
"Prior to the Joint Commission Meeting, Foreign Minister Marty and I had very useful discussions on the current status of our bilateral relations and exchanged views on regional and international issues,"said Krishna to press meeting interaction with his Indonesian counterpart.
Natalegawa said efforts were on by the ASEAN countries to come out with a code of conduct for the South China Sea after the disappointment at the recent ASEAN summit in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Philippine-Germany Tax Treaty Up

 www.bethelfinance.com
The Philippines and Germany concluded the final round of negotiations on the revision of the agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and capital.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the new tax treaty have the scope to protect against the risk of double taxation where the same income is taxable in the Philippines and Germany.
It is also aimed at preventing fiscal evasion and fostering cooperation between Philippine and other tax authorities by empowering their respective tax laws. An effective international tax treaty is expected to facilitate trade and investments.
“This new tax treaty will provide German investors with certainty and guarantees in the area of taxation,” Philippine Ambassador to Germany Maria Cleofe R. Natividad declared . “It will bolster our economic diplomacy efforts here in Germany.”
Bureau of Internal Revenue Commisioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares led the  Philippine delegation during the negotiations. The other persons included in the delegation were Undersecretary Carlo Carag of the Department of Finance, Assistant BIR Commissioner Marissa Cabreros, Atty. Charadine Bandon of the BIR International Tax Division, and Director Mersole Mellejor of the Department of Foreign Affairs.
Ambassador Natividad represented the Philippine Embassy during the negotiations. She was joined by Third Secretary Azela Arumpac and Finance Attache Generosa Balocating.
The German delegation was headed by Dr. Wolfgang Lasars of the Federal Ministry of Finance. He was assisted by Ms. Simone Richter, a senior tax expert from the same Ministry, and Mr. Heinz-Josef Johansmeier, a legal expert from the Federal Foreign Office (FFO), Mr. Sven Green (FFO) and Ms. Nadine Lichtblau of the Federal Ministry of Economy and Technology.
All outstanding problems were resolved during the last round of negotiations, with both parties agreeing on the adoption of new standards in the tax treaty.
The Philippine and German delegations agreed to ensure early completion of their respective domestic requirements for the ratification of the new treaty. The new agreement is expected to be signed in Germany , first period of the next year.
Germany is an important economic partner of the Philippines. From January to November 2011, total trade was valued at $2.9 billion, with Germany as the biggest export market for Philippine goods in Europe.
German companies operating in the Philippines include Continental Temic, Siemens, Lufthansa Technik, Daimler Benz, BMW, Bayer, and Bosch.