"On February 4th, 2010 Ambassador Eleni Tsakopoulos Kounalakis and the Hungarian Minister for National Development and Economy István Varga signed a new science and technology agreement that replaces the one from the year 2000 and at the same time the U.S. Ambassador and the Hungarian Finance Minister Péter Oszkó signed a new income tax treaty between the United States and Hungary.In a double signing ceremony held at the Hungarian Parliament in Budapest, Ambassador Kounalakis first signed a new agreement dealing with scientific and technological cooperation between Hungary and the United States which represents an important milestone in the rich history of bilateral collaboration in the field of science. This new cooperation will cover basic research, applied research, development work and innovation activities.
It may be carried out in the form of coordinated programs and joint research projects, including joint scientific workshops, conferences and symposia and the exchange of scientific and technological information and documentation. The agreement also envisages the exchange of scientists, specialists and researchers and as well as the exchange or sharing of equipment and materials.
Convinced that international cooperation in science and technology strengthens the bonds of friendship and understanding between peoples and advances the state of science and technology to the benefit of everyone, Ambassador Kounalakis stated in her remarks following the signing: “This new agreement will help ensure that U.S.-Hungarian collaboration in this global age of discovery is at the very cutting edge of technological and scientific development.”
The second document signed by Ambassador Kounalakis was a new tax treaty for “the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.” This convention brings the existing agreement, signed in 1979, into closer conformity with current U.S. tax treaty policy. For example, the new treaty contains a comprehensive limitation on benefits provisions that is consistent with many recently concluded U.S. tax treaties, and ensures that only residents of the United States and Hungary may enjoy the benefits of the treaty. The convention also maintains the existing treaty’s withholding tax exemption on cross-border interest and royalty payments as well as the existing treaty’s reductions in withholding taxes on cross-border dividend payments. The treaty also provides for exemption from withholding tax on dividends paid to pension funds. Before coming into effect, the treaty needs the approval of the Hungarian Parliament and the United States Senate.
Ambassador Kounalakis concluded her remarks at the double signing ceremony with the following: “I am particularly pleased to sign these agreements, which are both substantive and symbolic representations of the close relationship between the United States and the Republic of Hungary.”
Ambassador Kounalakis' Remarks
Source: U.S. Embassy Budapest
Photo: Minister Oszkó, Ambassador Kounalakis, and Minister Varga (Embassy photo by Attila Németh)
08.02.2010