RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – President Jair Bolsonaro on Wednesday, May 26, signed the statute furthering the agreement between Brazil and the United Arab Emirates to end double taxation on income taxes and prevent tax evasion and tax avoidance.
The protocol between the two countries was signed in November 2018 and was then passed by the National Congress. The president’s signature gives efficacy to the agreement, which is now officially in force.
The convention contains 32 articles, including one establishing that no interpretation will be made so as to restrict, in any way, the right of a contracting state to tax its own residents.
According to the text, the taxes targeted are Income Tax and Social Contribution on Net Profit for Brazil. In the case of the United Arab Emirates, these are Income and Corporate Taxes.
The text governs taxation on real estate income; company profits; and sea and air transport. It also contains provisions regarding taxation on activities of associated companies; dividends; interest; royalties; compensation for technical services; capital gains; independent personal services; employment income; management compensation; artists and sportsmen; pensions; civil service; teachers and researchers; students; natural resources; and other income.
The agreement also provides specific clauses on the elimination of double taxation and on non-discrimination, as well as an article dealing with the exchange of information between the respective tax administrations according to internationally accepted standards.
In a statement, the General Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic stressed that the agreement increases legal certainty and improves the business environment.
“The agreements for the removal of double taxation reflect a balance between the interests of the signatory countries and meet the central goals of instruments of this nature, which involve eliminating or minimizing the double taxation of income and defining the tax competence of the contracting countries in relation to the different types of income, improving legal certainty and thereby the business environment.”
Source: Agência Brasil