Taiwan and France have signed an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation, which takes effect today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced separately yesterday.
Taiwan’s representative to France Michel Lu (呂慶龍) and Patrick Bonneville, director of the French representative office in Taipei, signed the agreement on Dec. 24, MOFA said in a statement.
The agreement was screened and passed by the French Parliament on Dec. 21 and approved by the Executive Yuan on Dec. 23 before the Christmas Eve signing, according to the statements from the two ministries.
France became the 20th country to sign a double taxation agreement with Taiwan.
MOFA said the pact represented a great step forward for economic and investment relations between Taiwan and France, the nation’s fifth-largest trade partner in Europe.
The agreement is expected to benefit businesses in both countries, helping to attract French investment to Taiwan, as well as providing a fair tax environment for Taiwanese businesses in France, MOF said.
According to the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會), Taiwan’s quasi-official trade promotion agency, French exports to Taiwan totaled 1.02 billion euros (US$1.36 billion) and imports from Taiwan totaled 2.16 billion euros in 2009.
More than 60 Taiwanese companies have invested in France, including mobile phone maker HTC Corp (宏達電), computer manufacturers Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), BenQ Corp (明基) and First International Computer Inc (大眾電腦), and transportation companies such as China Airlines Ltd (中華航空) and Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運).
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