[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 17515]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      REMOVAL OF INJUNCTION OF SECRECY--TREATY DOCUMENT NO. 111-7

  Mr. WYDEN. As in executive session, I ask unanimous consent that the 
injunction of secrecy be removed from the following treaty transmitted 
to the Senate on November 15, 2010, by the President of the United 
States: Tax Convention with Hungary, Treaty Document No. 111-7. I 
further ask that the treaty be considered as having been read the first 
time; that it be referred, with accompanying papers, to the Committee 
on Foreign Relations and ordered to be printed; and that the 
President's message be printed in the Record.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The message of the President is as follows:

To the Senate of the United States:
  I transmit herewith, for the advice and consent of the Senate to its 
ratification, the Convention between the Government of the United 
States of America and the Government of the Republic of Hungary for the 
Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with 
Respect to Taxes on Income, signed on February 4, 2010, at Budapest 
(the ``proposed Convention'') and a related agreement effected by an 
exchange of notes on February 4, 2010. I also transmit for the 
information of the Senate the report of the Department of State, which 
includes an Overview of the proposed Convention and related agreement.
  The proposed Convention and related agreement were negotiated to 
bring U.S.-Hungary tax treaty relations into closer conformity with 
current U.S. tax treaty policies. For example, the proposed Convention 
contains comprehensive provisions designed to address ``treaty 
shopping,'' which is the inappropriate use of a tax treaty by residents 
of a third country. The existing Convention with Hungary, signed in 
1979, does not contain treaty shopping protections and, as a result, 
has been abused by third-country investors in recent years. For this 
reason, concluding the proposed Convention has been a top priority for 
the Department of the Treasury's tax treaty program.
  I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to 
the proposed Convention and related agreement and give its advice and 
consent to their ratification.
                                                        Barack Obama.  
The White House, November 15, 2010.

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