The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday next week is to deliberate over the proposed “Taiwan Tax Agreement Act” after discussions were boycotted last week.
The committee announced next week’s schedule on Thursday, with deliberation of the act in the agenda of the business meeting.
Deliberations were originally scheduled last week, but US Senator Rand Paul boycotted them due to “concerns over protecting privacy for American taxpayers with the legislation,” US daily The Hill reported.
Photo: Reuters
US Senator Robert Menendez, who chairs the committee and introduced the bill, told reporters at the time that he expected the proposed legislation to garner strong bipartisan support.
The bill would be to “authorize negotiation and conclusion, and to provide for congressional consideration of a tax agreement between the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO).”
“Further bolstering economic ties between the United States and Taiwan remains critical,” as Taiwan is one of the largest trading partners of the US and one of the world’s largest economies, it says.
A tax agreement with Taiwan could help facilitate and promote investment and trade between the two sides, fortify the bilateral relationship and encourage other nations to increase their economic links to Taiwan, it says.
The bill would authorize the US president to negotiate and enter into a tax agreement with Taiwan through the AIT, it says.
Such an agreement would have to include relief from double taxation, and measures to limit the risk of tax evasion or avoidance, it says.
The US president should provide written notification to the US Congress at least 15 days before the commencement of negotiations between the AIT and TECRO on such an agreement, it says.
The US president should also provide an update on the status of negotiations to Congress no later than 90 days after the commencement of negotiations and every 180 days thereafter until the conclusion of the agreement, it adds.
The US secretary of state should provide the agreement and technical explanation to Congress within 30 days after the agreement is concluded, it says.
The agreement would not take effect until after the US House of Representatives and the Senate pass a concurrent resolution of approval, it says.
“In the face of mounting coercive tactics by Beijing to thwart Taiwan’s international economic engagement, this effort to facilitate US-Taiwan economic relations is more crucial than ever,” Menendez said when he introduced the bill.
If the bill is passed by the committee, it would be sent to the Senate and the House for deliberation.
Additional reporting by CNA
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