Bulgaria, Switzerland sign updated double-taxation treaty
Bulgaria’s Finance Minister Simeon Dyankov said on October 5 that the Cabinet has signed the updated treaty with Switzerland on avoiding double taxation of income and property, negotiated by the ministry in the summer.
The agreement was signed on September 19, Dyankov said during Question Time in Parliament.
The most important new provision of the amended treaty is a clause that envisions the exchange of information; the absence of such a clause in the existing agreement has proven an obstacle in the full implementation of the treaty because Bulgaria could not effectively prevent tax avoidance and fraud.
The amended treaty will allow Bulgarian authorities to receive full information, including confidential banking data, that will help fight money laundering, tax fraud and tax avoidance.
Dyankov said that the two countries will exchange quarterly reports – the first ones covering the fourth quarter of this year are envisioned to be exchanged at the start of 2013 – as well as annual reports.
(Photo: malias/flickr.com)
