PBBM commits to fixing double taxation issue with Cambodia

FIXING DOUBLE TAXATION. President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. (center) and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet (left) share a light moment on the sidelines of the 50th Australia-ASEAN Special Summit in Melbourne on Monday (March 4, 2024). The President said he is bent on addressing the double taxation issue between the Philippines and Cambodia. (PCO Photo)

MANILA – President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said on Monday the government is addressing the double taxation issue between Cambodia and the Philippines.

“We are working very hard on the issue of double taxation between our two countries,” Marcos told Cambodia Prime Minister Hun Manet during their bilateral meeting held on the sidelines of the 50th Australia-ASEAN Special Summit in Melbourne.

“And I just wanted to assure you that we are doing the work for that, we do not have that kind of situation that we … because if we are going to talk about increased trade between Cambodia and the Philippines, that has to be sorted out, we cannot leave it there,” he added.

Marcos assured Hun he is confident that the government will find a good solution.

The Philippines and Cambodia first held their discussions on the double taxation agreement in Manila in 2018 and made similar efforts in the succeeding years.

Under the agreement, residents of one country receiving income in another contracting state, or vice versa, will not be taxed twice for the same income, property or investment.

The agreement also provides tax relief in the form of exemptions or preferential tax rates.

The agreement will also prevent tax evasion and at the same time, encourage foreign trade and investments between the two nations.

Hun, for his part, said his government will also work on the issue as Phnom Penh makes similar initiatives with quite a number of countries to improve trade and investment system mechanism.