UAE, Finland sign agreement on exchange of information for tax purposes

The United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Finland have signed an agreement on the exchange of information for tax purposes between the two countries.

The agreement was signed by Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Finance, MoF, and Riitta Swan, Ambassador of Finland to the UAE; in the presence of Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Assistant Undersecretary for International Financial Relations at MoF and a number of senior executives at the Ministry.

Al Khoori stressed the importance of signing similar agreements as they play a significant role in strengthening the financial and economic cooperation between countries, ensuring justice for individual or company taxpayers and protecting the national economy.

He said that the ministry is committed to implementing the highest standards of economic transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes; whereby these agreements provide a legal framework for tax authorities to prevent any sovereignty violations of other countries. This according to him, will contribute in attracting foreign investments, achieving stability and global economic prosperity.

"Signing this agreement with Finland is a continuation to the series of international agreements previously signed between both countries," Al Khoori said, adding these signed agreements are aimed to strengthen both countries’ economic and investment relations, specifically in terms of trade exchange growth between the two countries.

UAE and Finland are associated by a joint committee based on economic, industrial and technical cooperation between the two countries. The two parties signed agreements for the avoidance of double taxation on income, and for protecting and encouraging investments in 1996. The foreign trade between both countries amounted to AED342 million in 2015.

Last November, MoF signed agreements on the exchange of information for tax purposes with a number of Scandinavian countries, including Norway, Sweden and Denmark. These agreements have strengthened UAE’s status as one of the most prominent countries globally in tax transparency.

Sourc:WAM