Signing of the Double Taxation Agreement between Ghana and the Netherlands

Toespraak | 10-03-2008

Your Excellency, ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure for me to say a few words to you today at the signing of the Double Taxation Agreement between Ghana and the Netherlands. When I was asked if I wanted to go to Accra to personally to sign the Treaty, I immediately said yes! It is an honour for me to visit your beautiful country and I am very pleased to meet you, Dr. Osei, personally.

Last year, the Republic of Ghana celebrated its fiftieth anniversary. Unfortunately, I could not attend the various festivities organised for this occasion, but I understand that this event was celebrated appropriately! I would like to take the opportunity to congratulate you with this milestone and to wish you all the best for a stable economy and a prosperous future.

I would also like to take the opportunity to express my admiration for your country. I admire how Ghana, amidst a politically and economically dynamic region, manages to play an important role in promoting political and economic stability in West Africa. I also have great respect for the progress Ghana is making on its way to reaching the Millennium Development Goals. And last but not least, I admire the fact that Ghana, as a relatively young country, has already been able to conclude numerous Double Taxation Treaties with countries all over the world. I believe the Treaty with the Netherlands is number 8 already.

The Netherlands and Ghana enjoy excellent bilateral ties in various areas. Ghana is a very important trading partner of the Netherlands in Sub-Sahara Africa. The Netherlands in turn is a principal export partner for Ghana. And Ghana has also been receiving structural bilateral aid from the Netherlands for a number of years now.

The Treaty that we will sign today further strengthens our bilateral cooperation. The fact of the matter is that such a Treaty is an important prerequisite for the promotion of mutual investments and trade between two countries. A tax treaty not only helps prevent double taxation as well as double non-taxation. It also provides certainty to companies, organisations and individuals on the fiscal treatment of their income and capital gains from the countries involved. And furthermore, the treaty will significantly reduce the administrative burden relating to the taxation of income and capital gains, both for taxpayers and the respective tax administrations.

To affirm this, I am pleased to invite a delegation of the Ghanaian tax administration to visit our tax administration and customs department and learn more about our day to day practise. If you wish, we can then also look into the possibilities to discuss certain technical subjects that may be of interest to you.

The Netherlands would like to thank Ghana for working together so constructively towards concluding this Treaty. In my view it forms a great example of how a developing and a developed country are able to come to a solid agreement that does justice to the characteristics of both countries. On the one hand, the Treaty, like I mentioned, reduces barriers for mutual trade and investments between Ghana and the Netherlands. On the other hand, it contributes to creating the conditions for sound public finance which is vital for the economic growth of a developing country.

Lastly, on a more personal note, I cannot fail to mention that I myself also feel a special connection with Ghana. I live in the city of Rotterdam, which as you may know is home of the football club Feyenoord. For some years now already, Feyenoord runs a football academy in Ghana to train Ghanaian football talents, to provide schooling and to offer them a chance to become a successful football player.

A famous slogan of Feyenoord is ‘Geen woorden, maar daden!’, which means as much as ‘Suit the action to the word’. Admittedly, I have been speaking for a while now already, so it’s time for action. And I believe that Ghana, like no other, has demonstrated the relevance of this motto, when giving its all towards building a healthy future.

Thank you.