The US Congress on Wednesday voiced bipartisan support for legislation to avoid double taxation between Taiwan and the US.
US senators Ben Cardin and Jim Risch, chair and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee respectively, along with Ron Wyden and Mike Crapo, chair and ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee respectively, endorsed a package of legislation to provide double-tax relief between the two nations ahead of its scheduled markup in the US House of Representatives’ Ways and Means Committee yesterday, the foreign relations and finance committees said.
The legislation released by the Ways and Means Committee incorporates the US-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act and the US-Taiwan Tax Agreement Authorization Act, they said.
Photo: Reuters
The US-Taiwan Expedited Double-Tax Relief Act passed unanimously out of the Senate Finance Committee in September and was formally introduced in the Senate and the House last month.
The Taiwan Tax Agreement Act passed out of the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee by voice vote in July, authorizing US President Joe Biden’s administration to negotiate and conclude a tax agreement between the two sides.
The four leaders of the Senate committees on Wednesday said in a statement that “providing double-tax relief is “a long overdue step” to bolster the important relationship with Taiwan, which is “one of the world’s largest economies” and one of the US’ top trading partners.
The bills would address the problem of double taxation, facilitate broader investment between the two sides, create more jobs across the US and “help promote our collective prosperity, national security and economic resilience,” they said.
The legislation provides expedited double-tax relief through amending the US tax code, which “paves the way for future agreements” between Taiwan and the US on additional and more comprehensive double-tax relief, they said.
The leaders “fully endorse this legislative effort” and applaud the Ways and Means Committee for its planned markup of the bills, they said.
“We look forward to the swift passage of this legislative package and enactment into law as a critical step forward in our continued partnership with Taiwan,” they added.
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday welcomed the bills, saying that the government would continue to work closely with the US government and US Congress to foster complementary and mutually beneficial economic, trade and investment relations between Taiwan and the US.
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