[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1457 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1457

      To authorize negotiation and conclusion and to provide for 
  congressional consideration of a tax agreement between the American 
    Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural 
                     Representative Office (TECRO).


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 4, 2023

 Mr. Menendez (for himself, Mr. Risch, Mr. Van Hollen, and Mr. Romney) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To authorize negotiation and conclusion and to provide for 
  congressional consideration of a tax agreement between the American 
    Institute in Taiwan (AIT) and the Taipei Economic and Cultural 
                     Representative Office (TECRO).

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Taiwan Tax Agreement Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

     Congress makes the following findings:
            (1) The United States has entered into tax treaties 
        covering 65 jurisdictions, which facilitate economic activity, 
        strengthen bilateral cooperation, and benefit United States 
        businesses and other United States taxpayers.
            (2) Taiwan is a one of the largest trading partners of the 
        United States and one of the world's largest economies, and 
        further bolstering economic ties between the United States and 
        Taiwan remains critical, especially given Taiwan's strategic 
        importance and the increasing threat posed by the People's 
        Republic of China.
            (3) A tax agreement with Taiwan would play a key role in 
        facilitating and promoting increased bilateral investment and 
        trade between the United States and Taiwan, fortifying the 
        relationship between the two more generally, and encouraging 
        other nations to increase their economic linkages to Taiwan.

SEC. 3. AUTHORIZATION TO NEGOTIATE AND CONCLUDE.

    (a) In General.--The President is authorized to negotiate and enter 
into a tax agreement relative to Taiwan through the American Institute 
in Taiwan (AIT) (hereinafter the ``Agreement'').
    (b) Elements of Agreement.--The Agreement authorized to be 
negotiated and concluded under this section shall conform with the 
provisions customarily contained in United States bilateral income tax 
conventions, as exemplified by the 2016 United States Model Income Tax 
Convention, and shall include the following elements:
            (1) Application to tax residents of the United States, 
        Taiwan, or both, exclusive of enterprises permanently 
        established in the People's Republic of China or in third 
        States that do not have a comprehensive income tax treaty with 
        the United States.
            (2) Relief from double taxation.
            (3) Measures aimed at limiting the risk of tax evasion or 
        avoidance.
            (4) Entry into force conditioned upon confirmation by the 
        President of approval by the United States Congress, as 
        described in section 4, and relevant authority in Taiwan and 
        necessary steps taken to enable implementation.
    (c) Limitation.--The Agreement authorized to be negotiated and 
concluded under this section may not include elements outside the scope 
of the 2016 United States Model Income Tax Convention.

SEC. 4. CONSULTATION.

    (a) Notification Upon Commencement of Negotiations.--The President 
shall provide written notification to the appropriate congressional 
committees of the commencement of negotiations between AIT and TECRO on 
the Agreement at least 15 calendar days before such commencement.
    (b) Reports.--Not later than 90 days after commencement of 
negotiations on the Agreement, and every 180 days thereafter until 
conclusion of the Agreement, the President shall submit a report to the 
appropriate congressional committees providing an update on the status 
of negotiations, including a description of elements under negotiation.
    (c) Consultations During Negotiations.--In the course of 
negotiations conducted under the authorities of this Act, the Secretary 
of the Treasury, in coordination with the Secretary of State, shall--
            (1) meet, upon request, with the Chairman or Ranking Member 
        of the appropriate congressional committees regarding 
        negotiating objectives and the status of negotiations in 
        progress; and
            (2) consult closely, on a timely basis, and keep fully 
        apprised of the negotiations, the appropriate congressional 
        committees.

SEC. 5. APPROVAL OF THE AGREEMENT.

    (a) Submission of Agreement.--Not later than 30 days after the 
Agreement is concluded, the Secretary of State shall provide the 
Agreement and technical explanation to the appropriate congressional 
committees.
    (b) Approval.--The Agreement shall not take effect until after 
Congress passes a concurrent resolution of approval as described in 
subsection (c).
    (c) Terms of Concurrent Resolution of Approval.--
            (1) In general.--For purposes of subsection (b), the term 
        ``concurrent resolution of approval'' means only a concurrent 
        resolution--
                    (A) which does not have a preamble;
                    (B) which includes in the matter after the 
                resolving clause the following: ``That Congress 
                approves the Tax Agreement concluded between the 
                American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei Economic 
                and Cultural Representative Office, as submitted by the 
                President on ____.'', the blank space being filled in 
                with the appropriate date; and
                    (C) the title of which is as follows: ``Concurrent 
                resolution approving the Tax Agreement concluded 
                between the American Institute in Taiwan and the Taipei 
                Economic and Cultural Representative Office.''.
            (2) Referral.--A resolution described in this subsection 
        that is introduced in the Senate shall be referred to the 
        Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate. A resolution 
        described in this subsection that is introduced in the House of 
        Representatives shall be referred to the Committee on Foreign 
        Affairs of the House of Representatives.

SEC. 6. ENTRY INTO FORCE AND LEGAL EFFECT OF THE AGREEMENT.

    (a) Entry Into Force.--Upon passage of the concurrent resolution of 
approval, the President may bring the Agreement into force.
    (b) Legal Effect.--Upon entry into force, the Agreement shall be 
afforded the same treatment as a treaty for purposes of the laws of the 
United States.

SEC. 7. APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DEFINED.

    In this section, the term ``appropriate congressional committees'' 
means the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Finance 
of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on 
Ways and Means of the House of Representatives.
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