Press Release - AmCham welcomes the announced signing of the Double Taxation Treaty

“AmCham welcomes the announced signing of the Double Taxation Treaty on December 7 in Washington. This is an important step for the business community in the US and Croatia, which have been advocates for launching negotiations on signing such a treaty for many years. The move marks a major milestone for AmCham and its members in particular in view of the fact that the preliminary arguments in favor of the Treaty was drawn up by AmCham back in 2018, and AmCham’s members include companies which play a prominent role in terms of trade and investment relations between Croatia and the United States”, said Andrea Doko Jelušić, Executive Director of AmCham Croatia

Entering into this treaty will lower the financial burden on companies that operate directly, specifically Croatian companies with subsidiaries in the USA as well as American companies with subsidiaries in Croatia. On the Croatian side, this will be especially interesting for the IT sector, and the food and pharmaceutical industries. On the American side, it will pave the way for cooperation for small and medium-sized companies that haven’t been doing business in Croatia so far. In addition to reducing the burden of double taxation, the treaty will allow for less administrative burden and increase the transparency of doing business between the two countries.

Along with the clear impact on intensifying economic cooperation, it also enables the transfer of knowledge, which is particularly important for small and medium-sized enterprises, especially in the IT sector.

The Double Taxation Treaty is almost a standard in the relations of the USA with friendly countries, and Croatia is the only member of the EU that has not had such a treaty so far. In this sense, it will be a sign of stability of relations and predictability of the business environment for potential investors.

In addition, the Double Taxation Treaty will favorably affect US citizens working in Croatia or receiving US pensions in Croatia as well as Croatian citizens in the US.

After Croatia’s Inclusion in the Visa Waiver Program and the announcement that Croatian citizens will be able to enroll in the Global Entry program, the upcoming signing and ratification of the Double Taxation Treaty will help Croatia successfully conclude key issues in the bilateral relations between the two countries.