By Salman Siddiqui/Staff Reporter
Qatar and Ecuador are close to signing a treaty on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion on income tax, a senior Ecuadorian minister said yesterday.
Minister of Revenue Services Carlos Marx Carrasco, who is also the director general of the Internal Revenue Services (SRI), told a press conference at the Ecuador embassy that he hoped the agreement between the two countries would be signed when the Ecuadorian president comes on a state visit to Qatar in the coming months.
“We have had two rounds of negotiations on the issue of double taxation, including one in last June (in Quito) and I’m glad to inform you that both countries have made great progress,” he said.
Carrasco was heading a two-member delegation in Qatar that included Galo Maldonado, Ecuador’s National Chief of Tax Regulation Department. They left yesterday evening after a three-day visit.
Double taxation is the levying of tax by two or more jurisdictions on the same declared income (in the case of income taxes), asset (in the case of capital taxes), or financial transaction (in the case of sales taxes). This double liability is often mitigated by tax treaties between countries.
Carrasco underlined the importance of the agreement for both countries. “The objective is to attract capital export countries to make investments in strategic sectors and projects of Ecuador,” he said.
He said that after the agreement is officially signed, it would boost the investment opportunities in both countries.
“We are looking to expand investments in Ecuador’s hydrocarbon, minerals, electricity and tourism sectors. We are sure that this agreement will go a long way in achieving that goal,” he said.
He, however, declined to give figures of the current level of investments made by Qatari companies in Ecuador and vice versa.
Explaining the advantages, he said the agreement would generate direct and indirect employment opportunities for both countries. “Both the states’ resources would also increase though increased tax collection.”
Ties between Qatar and Ecuador got a major boost when HH the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani paid an official one-day visit to Ecuador last February when he was the Emir. Ambassador Kabalan B Abisaab said that during the visit of the Father Emir, 10 agreements were signed between the two countries.
Minister Carrasco flanked by Maldonado (left) and ambassador Abisaab at the Ecuador embassy in Doha yesterday. PICTURE: Najeer Feroke.
