Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Tax agreement with Italy amended

THE PHILIPPINES yesterday approved the amendments to its double taxation agreement with Italy as the government seeks to be removed from the latter country’s blacklist of tax havens.

"The Philippines, through the Department of Finance and the Bureau of Internal Revenue, negotiated and concluded ... the protocol amending the convention between the Philippines and the Italian Republic for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes in income and prevention of fiscal evasion," the DoF said in a statement yesterday.

DoF Secretary Cesar V. Purisima -- who led the signing with Italian Ambassador to the Philippines Massimo Roscigno -- welcomed the signing "as a positive step towards competitiveness and fairness in taxation between our countries."

"We hope that with this move, the Italian authorities would remove the Philippines from its blacklist of tax havens, for the benefit of Italians residing in the Philippines and the Filipinos in Italy who comprise the fourth largest immigrant nationality," Mr. Purisima said in the statement.

Double taxation treaties seek to harmonize tax requirements between two countries to avoid the double payment of taxes to host countries and countries of origin.

The protocol signed yesterday amended Article 25 of the Philippines-Italy 1980 double taxation agreement on the exchange of information, "in accordance with the current tax treaty model of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations," the DoF said.

Following the amendments, which will need to be ratified by both governments, Italy and the Philippines may now exchange tax information to prevent international tax evasion. -- D.J.B. Evite


source:  Businessworld

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