Finance Minister Fatmir Besimi and the Swiss Ambassador Sybille Suter Tejada signed Wednesday the protocol amending the agreement for avoidance of double taxation between North Macedonia and Switzerland in line with the new Tax Convention of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and BEPS standards.
The protocol will strengthen the existing clauses for avoiding double taxation on income tax and capital tax between the two countries, will achieve greater tax transparency and fair tax treatment, the Ministry of Finance said.
“Strengthening the clauses for avoiding double taxation will enable better monitoring of the tax base and fair distribution of profits between the two countries. Setting clear rules for avoiding double taxation as well as preventing the granting of contractual benefits in inappropriate circumstances are very important for bilateral economic cooperation, as well as for building a fair tax system,” Finance Minister Besimi said.
Swiss Ambassador Sybille Suter Tejada said that today the two countries signed an amending protocol in line with the highest standards for the double taxation agreement (DTA) implemented since December 2000 which avoids income and assets being taxed in two countries at the same time. The amendments contain, in particular, a clause that is intended to prevent abuse and specifies the information exchange between the two countries in the area of taxation.
“Switzerland and North Macedonia are committed to implementing the latest international standards in their treaty agreements which will reinforce the economic relations among the two countries,” Tejada said.
North Macedonia is the 117th Member State that has joined the BEPS inclusive framework in August 2018 and has committed to implementing the four minimum standards. Joining the Framework and giving our country the opportunity to work together on an equal footing with other OECD and G20 countries to continually implement the BEPS package and develop further standards to address remaining BEPS problems.
