Belarus and Saudi Arabia signed a convention on avoiding double taxation and preventing income and capital tax evasion on Monday. The document was signed by Belarusian Tax Minister Anna Deiko and Saudi Arabia's Finance Minister Dr. Ibrahim Bin Abdul Aziz Bin Abdullah Al-Assaf. Apart from that, an intergovernmental agreement on investment protection was signed by Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov and Al-Assaf. The two sides expressed confidence that these documents will help expand economic, trade and investment cooperation between the two countries. The convention will address double taxation problems by giving each state the authority to collect taxes from certain kinds of incomes and property (capital). The main goal of the agreement is to distribute taxation rights between the two countries, preventing tax dodging and tax discrimination. It also will facilitate softer income taxation procedures for Belarusian and Saudi Arabian economic entities in their business operations in the two countries. The deal will bring about a 5 percent income tax on dividends (15 percent according to Belarusian laws), a 5 percent income tax on interest earnings (10 percent according to Belarusian laws), and a 10 percent income tax on royalty (15 percent).
