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Netherlands ready to shed double taxation with Kenya

The Netherlands is ready to sign the long awaited agreement on double taxation with Kenya, to cut the cost of trade, its ambassador Joost Reintjes said yesterday. He said the Dutch government is expecting the deal to be signed this month to pave way for a fresh tax regime on goods and services.

Reintjes urged Kenya's Foreign Affairs and International Trade ministry to expedite the process. "We are ready to sign the agreement to do away with double taxation. We remain focused in enhancing trade between Kenya and the Dutch," he said.

Talks to have the agreement dubbed "treaty for avoidance of double taxation" kicked off about two years ago according to the embassy. The treaty will give preferential tariffs to goods imported or exported from either country, with taxes only paid at one end.

Reintjes expressed confidence in the positive developments in Kenya's economy, where the country has positioned itself as a hub in the region. He said the Netherlands is among the few international markets where trade volumes favour Kenya, but double taxation continues to lock out a bigger potential.

Kenya mainly exports horticultural products, flowers, tobacco and raw materials to the Netherlands while it imports chemicals, machinery, transport equipment and engines. According to the embassy's First Secretary of Economic Affairs, Robert van der Hum, last year Kenya's exports to the Netherlands were valued at about Sh 48.8 billion while imports were about Sh27.1.

Dutch private investment in horticulture has led to the emergence of a large competitive horticultural industry (flowers and vegetable production) which contributes to more than 14 per cent of the GDP.

Dutch investments in the country are also shifting from the traditional horticultural sector to other areas such as renewable energy, water and sanitation, infrastructure, logistics, ICT, and financial services.

Reintjes was speaking in Nairobi yesterday during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Netherlands-African Business Council, to boost investments between the two countries.

KNCCI vice chairman Laban Onditi said the agreement will assist Dutch and Kenyan entrepreneurs to settle and invest in both countries.

Source: allafrica.com
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