Malta and Serbia sign double tax agreement

Malta and Serbia have signed a double taxation avoidance agreement following talks between Foreign Minister Tonio Borg and his counterpart Vuk Jeremic, the first Serbian minister to visit.

The Foreign Ministry said this was the 12th agreement in this legislature, whose aim was to attract more investment.

Last year, trade between the two countries fell by almost half over the previous year, down from €2 million to €1.2 million.

Imports and exports mostly involve cereals, printed paper, furniture and aircraft-related parts.

Dr Borg proposed that business delegations to both countries be organised to increase contacts between businessmen and investors. Despite Serbia having a gross domestic product of €27,128 million, it amounts to €3,671 per person and almost a quarter of its 7.5 million people are unemployed. Inflation stood at 10.1 per cent and its public debt to gross domestic product ratio was 37 per cent.

About 3,000 Serbs live in Malta.