By Lisa Rowe
KINGSTON, Jamaica, (JIS) – The government and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA), to avoid double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
The signing took place on October 20, at the ministry of foreign affairs and foreign trade in downtown Kingston.
Minister of finance and the public service, Dr Nigel Clarke and ambassador of the UAE to Jamaica, His Excellency Bader Abdullah Saeed Almatrooshi, signed the agreement.
“We hope that the signing of this agreement will be a signal to investors in Jamaica and investors in the United Arab Emirates that the vision we have for a shared future between the UAE and Jamaica is one of friendship and prosperity, trade, economic relations and investment,” minister Clarke said.
The objectives of DTAs are to provide full protection to taxpayers against double taxation and to allow for the free flow of international trade or cross-border transactions and investments, as well as the transfer of technology.
The perceived benefits include the clarification of taxing rights of each state, avoidance of double international juridical taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with anti-avoidance provisions.
Minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith noted that bringing this agreement to fruition has been the result of deep interest, close dialogue and coordination.
She also noted that the agreement provides a backdrop to and a snapshot for the future of business and investment relations that “we aim to foster between both countries”.
“The prevention or elimination of internal double taxation in respect of the same income, exchange of goods and services and the movement of capital and persons constitutes a significant component in our bilateral investment outlook,” minister Johnson Smith said.
For his part, the ambassador thanked Jamaica for its support, arguing that this signing is a very important agreement between the two countries and that, with this agreement, the possibilities are endless.
Jamaica currently has DTAs with 15 other countries – Canada, China, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom and the USA.
Jamaica is also a party to the CARICOM Multilateral Agreement and has Tax Information and Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) with most of the Nordic countries, such as Denmark, Norway, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland and Iceland. There are also TIEAs with Brazil and Macau.
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