Bangladesh, Czech Republic sign double taxation avoidance agreement

Bangladesh has signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with the Czech Republic to strengthen bilateral trade and boost investments.

The DTAA is a tax treaty signed between two or more countries to help taxpayers avoid being taxed twice on the same income. The agreement becomes applicable in cases where an individual or an entity is a resident of one nation, but earns income in another.

The chairman of Bangladesh's National Board of Revenue's (NBR), Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan, signed the treaty with Finance Minister Alena Schillerova in Prague at 1pm local time on December 11.

Mosharraf then invited Schillerova, who also serves as the deputy prime minister of the Czech Republic, to visit Bangladesh with a trade delegation at a suitable time. 

According to a press release, the NBR chairman said, "The signing of a DTAA is necessary to expand trade and investment opportunities between the two countries. The deal will make it easier for the Czech Republic to invest in Bangladesh.

"Similarly, Bangladeshi people will become more interested in investing in that country."

Bangladesh has so far signed a DTAA with 36 countries. Among them - India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation.

Among Asian countries, the deal has been signed with Myanmar, Japan, China, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, South Korea, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. 

In Europe, Bangladesh has signed the agreement with the United Kingdom, Sweden, Romania, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Norway, Belgium, Poland, Turkey and Switzerland. Bangladesh has also signed the DTAA with the USA, Canada and Mauritius.