Mauritius and Italy Sign Protocol on Avoidance of Double Taxation

Mauritius and Italy signed yesterday in Port Louis a Protocol to amend the Mauritius-Italy Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to taxes on income and prevention of fiscal evasion.

The existing Convention was signed in March 1990. The Protocol will review the exchange of information article contained in the Convention in order to align it with the updated Article 26 of the revised Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Model Convention. The amended Convention will further contribute to encourage mutual trade and investment and reinforce the economic ties between the two countries.

As regards exchange of information and transparency, Mauritius has put in place the required legislation to implement the OECD proposed standards and has introduced new banking laws which provide the necessary mechanisms for sharing of banking information with public sector agencies, law enforcement agencies and foreign regulatory agencies. The powers of the Director General of the Mauritius Revenue Authority have also been enhanced so that relevant information can be obtained from taxpayers for exchange with treaty partners.

Furthermore, Mauritius has actively participated in the various initiatives of the OECD in the domain of exchange of information and transparency. In addition to being among the first six non-OECD countries that formed part of the Global Forum Working Group set up to draft the Model Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters, Mauritius is part of the OECD Joint Ad Hoc Group on Accounts. This year, the country has also undergone the OECD combined phases I and II peer review on the effectiveness of the exchange of information mechanism and will endeavour to implement the recommendations made in the assessment report.

It will be recalled that earlier this week Mauritius signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) and an Additional Benefits Agreement (ABA) with Australia, which will strengthen the commitment of both countries to improve the integrity of the international tax system. To date Mauritius has concluded Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements which contain a section on exchange of information with thirty six countries.