The U.S. House of Representatives plans to vote on a bill that would prevent some Taiwan residents with income and investments in the U.S. from being taxed in both countries. TaiwanPlus spoke with financial industry executive Chris Cottorone about what the bill would do for investors and for U.S.-Taiwan relations.
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00:00Were you surprised to see a bill about Taiwan and cross-border taxation, a somewhat niche
00:05issue, make it into the U.S. House's short list of priorities?
00:10Not really, because there was strong support from both the U.S. and Taiwan for this agreement,
00:14and perhaps the only reason it failed last year in the U.S. Senate rather than the House,
00:19which it passed, was more related to other parts of the bill, which included portions
00:22that were not part of the U.S. double taxation issue, such as child tax credits.
00:28That's what really killed it.
00:30And this time, they seem to be running a plan or a strategy which tries to make that cleaner.
00:34Over 100 people from Congress have put forth a letter to say this bill needs to get passed.
00:40And I think giving the power of the president to the president to negotiate a deal, and
00:46we all know that President-elect Donald Trump likes to be a negotiator, this means that
00:51this would have a better chance, I think, of being passed not just in the Congress,
00:56but also being signed by the White House.
00:59I know this issue of double taxation has been a priority for both sides for some time.
01:04How unusual is it for international residents and investors to be taxed by both countries?
01:10Keep in mind, Taiwan already does have double taxation agreements with more than 30 other
01:14countries around the world.
01:16Where it's important to look at this double taxation bill is because Taiwan is the only
01:21nation among America's top 10 trading partners that does not enjoy double taxation relief.
01:27That's the key.
01:28And this will help provide, like I said, that greater certainty for investors from Taiwan
01:32who are wanting to set up businesses in the United States and invest in the United States.
01:37Trade and investment is often seen as a way to improve bilateral relations, economic relations
01:42between two countries.
01:43Why?
01:44Because when you allow other countries to invest in the United States, you allow them
01:49to build plants, to produce their products there, to provide goods and services within
01:53the country and create jobs.
01:55The tariffs and the trade tensions that we're facing globally are often because countries
02:00are exporting their products to other countries.
02:03I think one of the reasons why they wanted to put this bill separately is because they
02:08see the difference in those two things.