Wednesday, February 7 2018 13:48

ArmInfo. The US Treasury Department is ready to discuss the issue of revising the Treaty on Avoiding Double Taxation with Armenia. Earlier, Congressmen Brad Sherman and David Valadou initiated the collection of signatures in the US Congress under an appeal to the head of the Treasury to resume negotiations on the revision of the existing double taxation order between the United States and Armenia.

According to the information of ANCA, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, during Congressional testimony today before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee, agreed - in response to direct questioning by Representative Brad Sherman (D-CA) - to commit Treasury Department officials to pursue a new U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty, a long-overdue bilateral accord that will remove barriers to the growth of U.S.-Armenia economic relations, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). Rep. Sherman was joined by Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) in collecting the Congressional signatures of their House colleagues on a letter to Secretary Mnuchin in support of the Tax Treaty. He referenced the legislators in his question to the Secretary, asking whether, in response to their calls to action, the Treasury Department would dedicate 28 hours (the number of Congressional signatures collected to date) to negotiating this agreement. Secretary Mnuchin replied in the affirmative, noting: "Yes, I can commit the 28 hours." "We are grateful for Congressman Sherman's policy expertise and persistence in securing the support of Secretary Mnuchin for a mutually-beneficial U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty," said ANCA Chairman Raffi Hamparian. "We look forward to the Treasury Department moving forward with this accord, a long-term ANCA priority that will - by removing the threat of double taxation - eliminate a major barrier to the growth of the U.S.-Armenia economic partnership As a result, Secretary of the US Treasury Stephen Mnuchin, "reacting to the growing interest of the congressmen regarding the revision of the existing document," noted that the Treasury Department will allocate the appropriate human resources for studying the Treaty on Avoiding Double Taxation with Armenia. Recall that the letter of Congressmen to the US Ministry of Finance, in particular, says that the Soviet-era order has lost its relevance and impedes the friendship between Armenia and the United States in the conditions of global globalization. The authors of the letter also emphasize that the double taxation order was introduced between the US and the Soviet Union in 1973 and now has lost its relevance, this order should not affect the former Soviet republics, in particular Armenia. "We are confident that the undoubted success of the Armenian-American relations largely depends on the elimination of this order, and this issue needs a speedy solution by resuming negotiations between Washington and Yerevan." As members of the Congress, we urge you to attach importance to this issue and to start negotiations with Armenia. Cancellation of this order will lead to activation of the Armenian-American economic relations, "the congressmen conclude. Meanwhile, answering the question of ArmInfo reporter on September 13 of last year, US Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills stressed that "the United States is satisfied with the current agreement, but at the same time are ready to listen to the Armenian government's arguments on the necessity of concluding a new Agreement." "We have repeatedly noted that the signing of the Agreement will be considered if such a need arises to stimulate trade," Mills said.