Korea to Sign Double Tax Prevention Accord With Ghana

The government of Korea has announced a plan to hold talks with Ghana and eight other countries this year in a bid to sign bilateral pacts on double tax avoidance.

An official at the Korean Ministry of Finance and Economy said that the government had pushed for the plan to help their local firms make inroads into the countries by easing their tax burdens.

He also said that the authorities could better cope with international tax evasion schemes if Korea finalizes double tax prevention accords with those countries.

The nine nations are Ghana, Iran, Qatar, Laos, Tajikistan, Iceland, Jordan, Oman and Saudi Arabia.

Korea is now in talks with Iran to officially sign a mutual double tax prevention pact after they initialed a tentative agreement last month.

The government plans to hold talks with Qatar and Laos in March, Tajikistan in April, Iceland in June, Jordan in July, Oman in September, Saudi Arabia in October and Ghana in December.

Korea is seeking to revise the current accord on double tax avoidance with the United States by the end of June. The two sides have already held four rounds of working-level talks.

The government also launched negotiations with India in November last year to amend the double tax prevention pact.

A ministry official said the government has been pressing ahead with the revision plan as part of its efforts to meet the rapidly changing environment of international trade and investment.

South Korea has double tax prevention pacts with 54 countries. It tentatively agreed on such an accord with 14 countries, including Chile, Sudan and Croatia.

The government officially signed a bilateral pact on double tax avoidance with Ukraine in 1999, but the two countries have yet to obtain ratification from their respective parliaments.