Kosovo bilateral tax agreements ratified - International Law Office

Although Kosovo declared its independence from Serbia in 2008, the tax authorities have not officially abolished the tax treaties that were signed by the former Yugoslavia. On the other hand, the Kosovar tax authorities have not accepted the direct application of these tax treaties.

In the past few years, Kosovo and several European countries have enacted several agreements signed by the former Yugoslavia. The president of Kosovo has signed the respective decrees for the approval of these agreements, including double taxation treaties. In practice, there are still uncertainties with regard to the initial date of their application.

The president has ratified by decree the following double taxation treaties signed by the former Yugoslavia:

• agreements for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and capital that were entered into with:
  • the United Kingdom (published in the Official Gazette on September 6 2010);
  • Germany (published in the Official Gazette on September 8 2011);
  • Belgium (published in the Official Gazette on April 2 2010); and
  • Finland (published in the Official Gazette on September 8 2011); and
• an agreement with the Czech Republic for the avoidance of double taxation on inheritance tax (published in the Official Gazette on April 4 2011).

Since independence, Kosovo has entered into double taxation treaties for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and capital with Albania (effective January 1 2006) and Macedonia (effective April 13 2012).

The government's main objective in enacting the double taxation treaties is to promote foreign investment and economic trade between Kosovo and other countries.

The following table lists the tax rates of countries with which Kosovo has established bilateral relations through double taxation treaties.

For further information please contact Fitore Mekaj at Boga & Associates by telephone (+355 42251050), fax (+355 42251055) or email (fmekaj@bogalaw.com).