Jamaica has signed a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) with the United Arab Emirates which will ensure the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
The signing took place on Thursday between the Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Nigel Clarke and Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to Jamaica, Bader Abdullah Saeed Almatrooshi, during a short ceremony at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade in Kingston.
The clarification of taxing rights of each state, avoidance of double international juridical taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with anti-avoidance provisions are the benefits the Finance Ministry said the country will reap from this partnership. It is expected that there will be a free flow of international trade or cross-border transactions and investments, as well as the transfer of technology.
“We have a lot to learn from the United Arab Emirates and 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,” Clarke said.
“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,” Johnson-Smith noted.
Bader Abdullah Saeed Almatrooshi, who is the Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to both the Republic of Cuba and Jamaica, thanked the island for its support. He said the signing is a very important agreement between the two countries and he is optimistic about the possibilities that exist.
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.
