São Paulo – The Brazil-United Arab Emirates Joint Committee is going to meet next Sunday (25th) and Monday in Abu Dhabi. One of the items on the agenda is negotiation for an agreement to prevent dual taxation in the income tax on business undertakings between the two countries.
Joint committees are meant to discuss issues pertaining to bilateral relations that concern the governments and private sectors of the countries involved. The treaty on dual taxation is one of the demands that the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce supports, and will be championed by its CEO, Michel Alaby, at the meeting.
According to information from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, both countries are interested in negotiating the document and the issue is already being discussed informally. After the meeting, the issue is expected to be negotiated on a formal basis.
Agreements of the type prevent foreign enterprises from having to pay tax on profits earned in the country where it does business, and once again when they remit the earnings back to its headquarters. It is a way to make business less costly and thus attract further international investment.
The same logic applies to the earnings of natural persons. Brazil has effective agreements with 30 different countries, though none is Arab, according to the website of the Brazilian Ministry of Finance.
The Brazilian delegation will be led by ambassador Paulo Cordeiro, the Foreign Affairs Ministry’s undersecretary general for Africa and the Middle East, and will comprise diplomats, officials from other ministries, and representatives of private organizations, such as Alaby.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, apart from the anti-dual taxation treaty, the agenda will include cooperation in economy, energy and culture, including the Emirates’ interest in investing in Brazilian infrastructure and oil and gas industry, Brazil’s intention of gaining better knowledge of the Arab country’s experience with sovereign funds, and promoting art shows, film festivals, and music concerts.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
