Malta and the Caribbean island of Curaçao have signed a convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
The agreement was signed on Wednesday 18th November 2015 by Malta's Finance Minister, Edward Scicluna, and his counterpart from the constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Mr Jose Jardim. Among those present for the signing ceremony that was held at the Ministry for Finance in Valletta, was the Dutch ambassador to Malta, Mr Johannes Jacobus Peter Nijssen.
The agreement had been initialled on the 17th of October 2013 in Malta and will enter into force on the 1st of January 2016.
The Double Taxation Agreement between Malta and Curaçao is mainly based on the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital, but includes special provisions to cater for certain domestic taxation laws of both sides. The agreement provides a means of settling on a uniform basis the most common problems that arise in the field of international juridical double taxation. Its main purpose is to remove the obstacles that double taxation presents to the development of economic relations between Malta and Curaçao. Such exchange of information is in line with internationally-agreed standards and will therefore give more credibility to Malta and Curaçao where transparency and exchange of information on tax matters are concerned.
Minister Scicluna made reference to several elements common to the two island states, such as the important role that tourism and financial services play in their respective economies. He pointed out that this agreement also provides for the exchange of any relevant information between the two sides in a bid to prevent tax evasion from multinational businesses.
"Although the two islands are far away from each other, business persons and companies use financial centres in every corner of the globe, so through this agreement we are also promoting financial business between us," Minister Scicluna said.
Minister Jardim echoed the same message, saying that "this agreement also means that we want to encourage economic relations between the two islands. Malta has a very important position in the European Union while Curaçao has an important position vis-à-vis the Latin American market". He said that this agreement sends out a signal that both Malta and Curaçao are committed to respecting international standards on the prevention of tax evasion.
Malta has double taxation agreements with over 65 countries worldwide.
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