Germany suspends double taxation agreement with Belarus

The German government has suspended its double taxation agreement with Belarus. The treaty will expire on January 1.

Earlier, Belarus itself decided to suspend some parts of the agreement, the German government reports.

If Belarus reverses its decision, the German government will also consider cancelling its decision, says the German Ministry of Finance. 

What does it mean?

Last year, Belarus temporarily (until January 31, 2026) withdrew from international double taxation treaties. Official Minsk claimed that the double taxation treaty was abolished by the regime in response to the economic sanctions imposed.

The restrictions affected companies and Belarusians working in the United States, Poland, France, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Lithuania, Latvia, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, Estonia, Romania, Cyprus, Switzerland, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Croatia, North Macedonia, Italy, Germany, Finland, Ireland, Slovenia, Spain, and the United Kingdom.

"How did it work before? If you received money abroad as an entrepreneur or as a salaried employee, you could report, for example, here is how much I earned in the EU. And if the tax rates in a certain EU country were lower than in Belarus, you had to pay the difference. That was the essence of the agreement: it allowed you to live abroad and pay taxes honestly. It worked the other way around. Now the abolition of the agreement complicates life, especially for entrepreneurs," politician, businessman and blogger Aliaksandr Knyrovich told Euroradio.

As a result of the suspension of these agreements, Belarusian citizens and resident companies will have to pay taxes twice: in a foreign country and in Belarus. Here's how Aleh Mazol, a researcher at the BEROC Center, commented on the situation.

"I do not exclude that this is also an attempt to financially punish the citizens of Belarus who left the country under the influence of political repression. At the same time, the most difficult task for the regime will be to obtain financial information about the income of Belarusians working abroad, since the agreements on the avoidance of double taxation also regulate the procedures for mutual exchange of financial information," the interlocutor says.