Egypt, Croatia sign agreement to prevent double taxation

Egypt has signed a double taxation agreement with Croatia during its participation in the annual meetings of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, currently taking place in Sharm El-Sheikh.

 

Minister of Finance, Mohamed Maait, who is also Egypt's governor at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, stated that the double taxation agreement between Egypt and Croatia reflects the commitment of both countries to enhance economic, trade, and investment relations while safeguarding tax rights.

 

"Proposals were discussed to make Croatia a gateway for Egyptian exports to European markets," added Maait.

 

"We look forward to increasing Croatian investments in Egypt and leveraging the available development opportunities. We invite Croatian investors and companies interested in expanding their investments in Egypt to take advantage of the stimulating measures taken by the Egyptian government in various fields, including the Golden License, state ownership policy documents, and government offerings," he continued.

 

"We are continuing to modernize the tax system and harness modern electronic systems and artificial intelligence to improve tax performance. This will make the tax system more advanced, attractive, and conducive to both local and foreign investment," Minister Maait emphasized.

 

Trade exchange between Egypt and Croatia doubled to reach nearly half a billion dollars thanks to Egyptian gas and ammonia exports in 2022, according to Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry.

 

Previous data from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics (CAPMAS) showed a 90.8 percent increase in the trade exchange between Egypt and Croatia to reach $203.9 million during the first 10 months of 2022, compared to $106.8 million during the same period in 2021.

 

Egypt’s exports to Croatia to record $107.8 million during the first 10 months of 2022, compared to $26.6 million during the same period in 2021, marking an increase of 304.8 percent, and the value of Egyptian imports from Croatia reached $96 million during the first 10 months of 2022 compared to $80.2 million during the same period in 2021, with an increase of 19.7 percent.

 

Croatian investments in Egypt reached $2.9 million during the fiscal year 2020/2021, compared to $2.3 million during the fiscal year 2019/2020, reflecting a 26.1 percent increase.

 

Remittances from Egyptians working in Croatia amounted to $1.1 million during the fiscal year 2020/2021, compared to $847,000 during the fiscal year 2019/2020, showing a 33.5 percent increase. On the other hand, remittances from Croatians working in Egypt amounted to $271,000 during the fiscal year 2020/2021, compared to $620,000 during the fiscal year 2019/2020, indicating a 56.3 percent decrease.

 

Not the first

 

The double taxation between Egypt and Croatia is not the first of its kind as in February, Egypt signed a governmental agreement with Qatar to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion.

 

The Egyptian-Qatari agreement stipulated the regulations and conditions for imposing taxes, in order to avoid double taxation on immovable property, business revenues, global, maritime and air transportation, joint projects, stock revenues, interests, capital revenues, in addition to independent and non-independent personal services.