Putrajaya (The Star/ANN) - Malaysia and Hong Kong have signed a deal to prevent the payment of double taxes by companies and individuals.
The Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Pre-vention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income was signed at Putra Perdana yesterday.
Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Husni Hanadzlah signed for Malaysia while Hong Kong was represented by its Financial Secretary John C. Tsang.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak witnessed the signing of the agreement, which is commonly known as the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).
Tsang had earlier made a courtesy call on Najib at his office.
The DTAA Malaysia-Hong Kong will come into force after the completion of ratification procedures on both sides.
"The objective is mainly to avoid double taxation by allocating the taxing rights between the two places, grant reduction in withholding taxes on a reciprocal basis and provide tax certainties in connection with cross-border activities," said the Finance Ministry in a statement.
The agreement will also allow tax authorities to exchange information on taxpayers to prevent evasion of income tax.
This was the 74th DTAA concluded by Malaysia with its trading partners, including two restricted agreements with the United States and Argentina.
Later when inaugurating the Malaysian Women's Foundation's 'The First Lady Awards' ceremony, Najib said the success and achievements of women in the country have been due to the Government's non-gender bias and equal opportunities policies.
"The success that women enjoy in the country today is due to the Government's non-gender bias policy that has enabled women to show their skills and abilities," he said.
Najib added that the advancements made by women here were also due to the equal opportunity offered to them.
"I must admit that the achievements of women of Malaysia have surpassed that of their male counterparts," he said.
Najib noted that the accomplishment of women here was a testament of Malaysia as a progressive Muslim nation where women played a significant and contributory role towards nation building.
Among recipients of the award was Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohd Ali for her role as chairperson of the Welfare Club of the wives of Ministers and Deputy Ministers (Bakti).
Dr Siti Hasmah was presented the First Lady Perdana Award.
The First Lady Award for Outstanding Achievement was presented to Director of NAM Institute for the Empowerment of Women Tan Sri Dr Rafiah Salim, Datuk Nooryah Md Anwar, Prof Datuk Seri Dr Zaleha Kamaruddin and Colonel Dr Normah Samsuri.
The Life Time Award was presented to Datuk Rosie Tan while the Outstanding Achievement Award was presented to Datin Paduka Mother A. Mangalam.