WILLEMSTAD, THE HAGUE - Curaçao and Malta have concluded a tax treaty after almost eight years. The treaty is intended to prevent double taxation between the two countries. The proposal has been sent to the House of Representatives in the Netherlands for approval. This was announced by the Minister of Finance, Javier Silvania, during a press conference on Thursday afternoon.  

The reason why the tax treaty has taken so long has to do with the lengthy ratification process that runs through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands.  

"Curaçao is autonomous in making tax treaties as long as the interests of the Kingdom are not harmed". The Netherlands still has to ratify the tax treaties for Curaçao.  

According to Billy Jonckheer, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce, it took a long time because the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands asked a number of questions that Curaçao was not able to answer immediately.  

The Chamber of Commerce chairman indicates that he has confidence in the current Minister of Finance and assumes approval of the tax treaty.