Greece’s Finance Minister, Christos Staikouras, has announced that the nation will strive to expand its network of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA) with Australia.
Thursday’s announcement came during the ratification of Greece’s agreement with France to eliminate double taxation of income tax and the prevention of tax evasion and tax avoidance in Parliament.
A DTAA is a treaty between two countries where income earned by an individual in one country is not fully taxed by both countries and the tax paid in one country is offset against the tax liability in the other country.
In essence, individuals and businesses are provided with greater tax certainty which is thought to encourage increased economic integration through foreign investment and trade.
At the moment, 82,000 Australian nationals hold a value-added tax identification (VAT) number in Greece and 30,000 of them have Greek citizenship, while another 51,000 who have Australian citizenship are also estimated to be descendants of expatriates.
Pointing to the network extension, Staikouras said it would develop economic relations with Australia and Japan, whilst also contributing to “peace, stability and security,” more broadly.
In relation to the new bilateral agreement with France, Staikouras underlined that it provides a framework of security for economic actors, citizens and businesses, “and it can act as a driver for economic development, not only for the benefit of the two countries, but of the EU, and indeed in an unstable international environment, characterised by successive, overlapping crises and major challenges.”
The announcement comes eight months after Australia and Greece held their first round of negotiations for a double taxation agreement in February this year.
At the time, the Australian Embassy in Greece said: “Heralding new trade and investment opportunities and improved tax efficiency for people who share their lives between Australia and Greece, the Double Taxation Agreement, once concluded, will be another important marker of the thriving bilateral relationship.”
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