Statement before Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Dutch and Barbados treaties: September 24, 2004.

On September 24, 2004, TEI President Judith P. Zelisko testified before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on the proposed tax protocols with the Netherlands and Barbados. The Institute's testimony, reprinted below, was prepared under the aegis of the Institute's International Tax Committee, whose chair is John P. Herson of Neenah Paper, Inc.

Good morning. I am Judith P. Zelisko, Vice President-Tax for Brunswick Corporation. I am appearing today as President of Tax Executives Institute, whose 5,400 members work for 2,800 of the largest companies in North America and Europe. TEI appreciates the opportunity to present its views today on the proposed protocols now under consideration by this Committee.

Background

Tax Executives Institute was established in 1944 to serve the professional needs of in-house tax practitioners. Today, the Institute has 53 chapters in the United States, Canada, and Europe. Our 5,400 members are accountants, attorneys, and other business professionals who work for 2,800 of the leading companies in North America and Europe; they are responsible for conducting the tax affairs of their companies and ensuring their compliance with the tax laws. Hence, TEI represents the business community as a whole, and our members deal with the tax code in all its complexity, as well as with the Internal Revenue Service, on almost a daily basis. TEI is dedicated to the development and effective implementation of sound tax policy, to promoting the uniform and equitable enforcement of the tax laws, and to reducing the cost and burden of administration and compliance to the benefit of taxpayers and government alike.

The majority of TEI's members work for multinational companies with substantial international operations and sales. Members of TEI are responsible for managing the tax affairs of their companies and must contend daily with the provisions of the various tax laws relating to the operation of business enterprises. Consequently, TEI members have a special interest in the Convention Between the United States of America and the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income (the "Dutch Protocol")--which was signed on March 8, 2004--and the Second Protocol Amending the Convention Between the United States of America and Barbados for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income (the...