The Ministry of Taxation published a press release summarizing the statements given by the Minister to Parliament on 29 April 2015 in an open hearing regarding the Danish treaty policy.
The main emphasis of the hearing was the conclusion of tax treaties with developing countries and countries with a moderate income level. The Minister highlighted that:
- Denmark’s essential interest is that Danish enterprises can operate under the same conditions as enterprises from other countries; and
- The nature of a tax treaty is to avoid double taxation, but not to avoid taxation altogether.
Denmark concludes tax treaties according to the following criteria:
- there is a Danish economic interest (i.e. Investments or business activities in a wider sense) in the country in question currently, or there will be in the future; and
- there is a risk of double taxation.
Other issues mentioned by the Minister included:
- Denmark takes the same negotiating position, whether the treaty partner is a developing or a developed country; and
- The criticism towards the recently concluded Denmark – Ghana Income Tax Agreement (2014) and the accusation that Denmark had misled Ghana is without any grounds.
The Minister emphasized however that Denmark does not give development support through tax treaties.
