The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday passed the Taiwan Tax Agreement Act amid growing advocacy for the US government to enter into negotiations with Taiwan on the avoidance of double taxation.
The bill was originally proposed in May by US senators Robert Menendez, Chris van Hollen, Jim Risch and Mitt Rommey.
However, the bill passed by the committee came from a revised version presented on Thursday by Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Photo: Reuters
The bill would authorize the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) to negotiate a tax agreement in a bid to deal with double taxation issues, which Taiwanese investors in the US have sought to have changed.
The bill describes Taiwan as one of the largest trading partners of the US, as well as one of the world’s largest economies.
It says closer economic relations with Taiwan remain critical, in particular given Taiwan’s strategic importance and the increasing threat posed by China.
“A tax agreement with Taiwan would play a key role in facilitating and promoting increased bilateral investment and trade between the United States and Taiwan, fortifying the relationship between the two more generally, and encouraging other nations to increase their economic linkages to Taiwan,” it says.
It also stipulates that a future tax agreement would apply to tax residents of Taiwan and the US, but exclude enterprises headquartered in China or in a third country that does not have a comprehensive income tax treaty with Washington.
The US has signed tax agreements covering 65 jurisdictions to facilitate economic activity, boost bilateral cooperation, and benefit US businesses and individual taxpayers.
The US president would be required to provide written notification to the “appropriate congressional committees” of the commencement of negotiations between the AIT and TECRO on a tax agreement at least 15 calendar days before such commencement, the proposed legislation says.
Not later than 90 days after commencement of negotiations on the agreement, and every 180 days until the conclusion of the agreement, the US president would be required to provide a briefing to congressional committees providing an update on the status of negotiations, including a description of elements under negotiations, it says.
The committees involved would be the foreign relations, Senate finance, foreign affairs, and ways and means committees, it says.
It stipulates that a tax agreement would not take effect until Congress approves it.
Review of the bill by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had been scheduled for June 8, but was delayed twice to Thursday partly due to a boycott by US Senator Rand Paul, who raised concerns over taxpayer privacy.
Taiwan has urged the US to enter into negotiations to sign an agreement to avoid double taxation.
When President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met with a US delegation in Taipei on July 4, she told them that Taiwan hopes to negotiate an agreement on avoiding double taxation with the US, as it would encourage bilateral investment and trade cooperation, and create more opportunities for businesses from both sides.
AIT Chair Laura Rosenberger in Washington on Thursday last week said that double taxation avoidance was an issue high on the radar of US policymakers, as well as Tsai and her colleagues.
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
Taiwan is hosting the International Linguistics Olympiad (IOL) for the first time, welcoming more than 400 young linguists from 43 nations to National Taiwan University (NTU). Deputy Minister of Education Chu Chun-chang (朱俊彰) said at the opening ceremony yesterday that language passes down knowledge and culture, and influences the way humankind thinks and understands the world. Taiwan is a multicultural and multilingual nation, with Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, Hakka, 16 indigenous languages and Taiwan Sign Language all used, Chu said. In addition, Taiwan promotes multilingual education, emphasizes the cultural significance of languages and supports the international mother language movement, he said. Taiwan has long participated
Taiwan must invest in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics to keep abreast of the next technological leap toward automation, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said at the luanch ceremony of Taiwan AI and Robots Alliance yesterday. The world is on the cusp of a new industrial revolution centered on AI and robotics, which would likely lead to a thorough transformation of human society, she told an event marking the establishment of a national AI and robotics alliance in Taipei. The arrival of the next industrial revolution could be a matter of years, she said. The pace of automation in the global economy can