MANILA, Philippines – Voting 20-0, the Senate on Monday, February 19, unanimously concurred in the ratification of treaties on the avoidance of double taxation between the Philippines and Mexico, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.

Senate foreign relations committee chairperson Loren Legarda said these 3 Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) are meant to “promote international trade and investment” by eliminating double taxation of income. They also seek to deepen the Philippines’ economic relations between Mexico, Thailand and Sri Lanka by enhancing cooperation on tax matters.

“They are widely pursued by countries to avoid a situation of discouraging cross national economic activities,” Legarda said.

“The DTAAs also aim to create a competitive advantage for each country’s residents by removing or reducing source taxation, encourage investors and promote the inbound transfer of technology and skills,” she added.

The deal with Mexico was signed in 2015 and also provides for an exchange of information on tax matters to fight tax evasion.

The agreement with Sri Lanka and Thailand, meanwhile, were signed on December 11, 2000 and June 21, 2013, respectively.

ASEAN + Japan, China, South Korea

Aside from these, the Senate also concurred in the ratification of the agreement establishing ASEAN+3 (China, Japan, South Korea) Macroeconomic Research Office (AMRO).

The Senate has recognized AMRO as an international organization and grants it legal personality, privileges and immunities – at par with other premier international institutions such as the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.

AMRO is the regional macroeconomic surveillance unit of the Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization (CMIM), a multilateral currency swap arrangement between ASEAN+3 member-countries.

It seeks to contribute to securing the economic and financial stability of the region through the conduct of regional economic surveillance and by supporting the implementation of the regional financial arrangement. – Rappler.com