Latest news with #dualcitizenship
Yahoo
14-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Philippine defense chief renounced Maltese citizenship before his appointment, department says
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. had renounced his Maltese citizenship and disclosed it to Filipino authorities before taking office, the Defense Department said Monday. Philippine law generally disqualifies candidates for high public office who have dual citizenship, especially those with foreign citizenship acquired through naturalization, unless they renounce their foreign citizenship. Teodoro, who was appointed defense chief by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2023, is one of the most vocal critics of China's aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea and elsewhere in Asia. He has led efforts by the Philippines to deepen its treaty alliance with the United States and build new security ties with other countries to deter China. The Manila Times reported Teodoro had acquired a Maltese passport in 2016 with a validity of 10 years. The Defense Department said, however, Teodoro's Maltese passport 'was surrendered and renounced' before he filed his certificate of candidacy for a Senate seat in 2021. Teodoro lost that senatorial bid. A Philippine congressional committee on appointments was also notified that Teodoro had renounced his Maltese passport and citizenship before it confirmed his appointment as defense secretary, the defense department said and suggested that critics were trying to undermine his image. 'The motive of this rumor is clear and known to Sec. Teodoro,' the defense department said without elaborating. 'The timing of the article adds to this motive.' The Department of National Defense did not provide details of Teodoro's acquisition of his passport from Malta, which belongs to the 27-nation European Union. Malta, through its so-called golden passport scheme, has allowed foreigners to become citizens through financial investment. In April, the European Court of Justice ordered Malta to close its 'golden passport' program, ruling that citizenship in EU countries cannot be sold. Programs that allow wealthy people to buy citizenship were once widespread in Europe, but they've been rolled back out of concern they facilitate transnational crime and sanctions evasion.
Washington Post
14-07-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Philippine defense chief renounced Maltese citizenship before his appointment, department says
MANILA, Philippines — Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. had renounced his Maltese citizenship and disclosed it to Filipino authorities before taking office, the Defense Department said Monday. Philippine law generally disqualifies candidates for high public office who have dual citizenship, especially those with foreign citizenship acquired through naturalization, unless they renounce their foreign citizenship. Teodoro, who was appointed defense chief by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2023, is one of the most vocal critics of China's aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea and elsewhere in Asia. He has led efforts by the Philippines to deepen its treaty alliance with the United States and build new security ties with other countries to deter China. The Manila Times reported Teodoro had acquired a Maltese passport in 2016 with a validity of 10 years. The Defense Department said, however, Teodoro's Maltese passport 'was surrendered and renounced' before he filed his certificate of candidacy for a Senate seat in 2021. Teodoro lost that senatorial bid. A Philippine congressional committee on appointments was also notified that Teodoro had renounced his Maltese passport and citizenship before it confirmed his appointment as defense secretary, the defense department said and suggested that critics were trying to undermine his image. 'The motive of this rumor is clear and known to Sec. Teodoro,' the defense department said without elaborating. 'The timing of the article adds to this motive.' The Department of National Defense did not provide details of Teodoro's acquisition of his passport from Malta, which belongs to the 27-nation European Union. Malta, through its so-called golden passport scheme , has allowed foreigners to become citizens through financial investment. In April, the European Court of Justice ordered Malta to close its 'golden passport' program, ruling that citizenship in EU countries cannot be sold. Programs that allow wealthy people to buy citizenship were once widespread in Europe, but they've been rolled back out of concern they facilitate transnational crime and sanctions evasion.
The Independent
14-07-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Philippine defense chief renounced Maltese citizenship before his appointment, department says
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. had renounced his Maltese citizenship and disclosed it to Filipino authorities before taking office, the Defense Department said Monday. Philippine law generally disqualifies candidates for high public office who have dual citizenship, especially those with foreign citizenship acquired through naturalization, unless they renounce their foreign citizenship. Teodoro, who was appointed defense chief by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2023, is one of the most vocal critics of China's aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea and elsewhere in Asia. He has led efforts by the Philippines to deepen its treaty alliance with the United States and build new security ties with other countries to deter China. The Manila Times reported Teodoro had acquired a Maltese passport in 2016 with a validity of 10 years. The Defense Department said, however, Teodoro's Maltese passport 'was surrendered and renounced' before he filed his certificate of candidacy for a Senate seat in 2021. Teodoro lost that senatorial bid. A Philippine congressional committee on appointments was also notified that Teodoro had renounced his Maltese passport and citizenship before it confirmed his appointment as defense secretary, the defense department said and suggested that critics were trying to undermine his image. 'The motive of this rumor is clear and known to Sec. Teodoro,' the defense department said without elaborating. 'The timing of the article adds to this motive.' The Department of National Defense did not provide details of Teodoro's acquisition of his passport from Malta, which belongs to the 27-nation European Union. Malta, through its so-called golden passport scheme, has allowed foreigners to become citizens through financial investment. In April, the European Court of Justice ordered Malta to close its 'golden passport' program, ruling that citizenship in EU countries cannot be sold. Programs that allow wealthy people to buy citizenship were once widespread in Europe, but they've been rolled back out of concern they facilitate transnational crime and sanctions evasion.
Associated Press
14-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Philippine defense chief renounced Maltese citizenship before his appointment, department says
MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. had renounced his Maltese citizenship and disclosed it to Filipino authorities before taking office, the Defense Department said Monday. Philippine law generally disqualifies candidates for high public office who have dual citizenship, especially those with foreign citizenship acquired through naturalization, unless they renounce their foreign citizenship. Teodoro, who was appointed defense chief by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. in 2023, is one of the most vocal critics of China's aggressive actions in the disputed South China Sea and elsewhere in Asia. He has led efforts by the Philippines to deepen its treaty alliance with the United States and build new security ties with other countries to deter China. The Manila Times reported Teodoro had acquired a Maltese passport in 2016 with a validity of 10 years. The Defense Department said, however, Teodoro's Maltese passport 'was surrendered and renounced' before he filed his certificate of candidacy for a Senate seat in 2021. Teodoro lost that senatorial bid. A Philippine congressional committee on appointments was also notified that Teodoro had renounced his Maltese passport and citizenship before it confirmed his appointment as defense secretary, the defense department said and suggested that critics were trying to undermine his image. 'The motive of this rumor is clear and known to Sec. Teodoro,' the defense department said without elaborating. 'The timing of the article adds to this motive.' The Department of National Defense did not provide details of Teodoro's acquisition of his passport from Malta, which belongs to the 27-nation European Union. Malta, through its so-called golden passport scheme, has allowed foreigners to become citizens through financial investment. In April, the European Court of Justice ordered Malta to close its 'golden passport' program, ruling that citizenship in EU countries cannot be sold. Programs that allow wealthy people to buy citizenship were once widespread in Europe, but they've been rolled back out of concern they facilitate transnational crime and sanctions evasion.
Washington Post
10-07-2025
- Business
- Washington Post
Come April, Pope Leo might need a tax adviser
Daniel A. Witt is president of the International Tax and Investment Center. Here's a not uncommon situation confronted by tax attorneys and advisers: A U.S. citizen is suddenly, perhaps unexpectedly, elevated to a CEO position. And that CEO holds dual citizenship in a country with which the United States does not have a bilateral tax treaty. To complicate the situation, the company's headquarters — or siège social, in international law — are in a third country with which the United States also does not have a bilateral tax treaty. I'm referring, if you haven't already guessed, to Pope Leo XIV. He is an American citizen and a citizen of Peru. He is now also head of state of Vatican City, a sovereign nation. That's a complicated tax posture under any circumstances. What would happen to an American corporate executive — say, in the manufacturing or extractive industries — in a similar situation? That person would continue to face U.S. taxes and have serious challenges regarding taxes due in the second country of citizenship and the country of residence, very likely leading to double taxation. This is one reason why people hire tax advisers. One shouldn't really expect the pope to engage in sophisticated tax planning. Yet Jesus told his questioners to 'render to Caesar what is Caesar's' and told Peter to pay the temple tax, so the successor of Peter can do no less. So, absent some relief, His Holiness could spend next April 15 finishing a Form 1040. (One can only imagine the issues with valuing the Apostolic Palace as a fringe benefit or parsonage allowance.) Only partly tongue in cheek, therefore, I hope Secretary of State Marco Rubio (who has already visited Leo) and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will negotiate a bilateral tax treaty with the Vatican. It's an independent country with which the United States has diplomatic relations, so this poses no difficulties under international law. Working from the U.S. model treaty should not be difficult with an American pope, and translation of any technical terms could presumably follow our existing treaty with Italy. There is, of course, a broader purpose for this as well. At a time when bilateral tax treaties have come into question — specifically the U.S. treaty with China, which the Trump administration is considering whether to suspend or terminate — it's important to understand why they are so essential, both for multinational companies and for growing international commerce, and to expand their spread to help U.S. companies operating around the world. Most important, bilateral tax treaties help prevent unwarranted double taxation. They smooth the path to foreign direct investment by reducing overall corporate tax burdens that can easily discourage new projects. Their absence is a deterrent to American executives considering jobs abroad — and to foreigners considering jobs in the United States, hoping to gain experience in the U.S. market. For both American and foreign executives in multinational corporations, the experience of working internationally is valuable as they climb the corporate ladder and prepares them for leadership of truly global companies. Far from being unfair to U.S. interests, bilateral tax treaties reinforce fairness by ensuring that the same obligations to avoid double taxation apply to foreign countries as well as to the United States. The concerns that prompted the One Big Beautiful Bill's Section 899 provision on 'unfair foreign taxes,' which congressional Republicans recently agreed to remove, don't apply when bilateral tax treaties are in place; the only sure way to benefit U.S. executives working abroad is through a well-working bilateral tax treaty. So why not start with the Vatican? It should be quick and easy. And it should renew the impetus to negotiate new bilateral tax treaties based on the Treasury Department's model treaty with countries — including important developing countries in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Central Asia — that are modernizing their tax systems to help investors with compliance, digitizing them to increase transparency and bringing more businesses into the formal (rather than informal) economy. Just as the Reagan administration made a strong push in negotiating these treaties, not least with China and Italy, about 40 years later, it's time for another expansion of U.S. bilateral tax treaties reflecting today's global economy. It would be a signal that America is open for business and wants to conduct commerce on fair and mutually beneficial terms with the world, including many emerging economies in developing nations that are ripe for U.S. exports, U.S. investment and U.S. executives overseeing those investments. It would also strengthen America's position in international tax negotiations. U.S. policy, including through its bilateral tax treaties, is designed to promote global foreign direct investment on fair terms. Without more bilateral tax treaties, the United States risks ceding important economic relationships and prospects for future growth to other countries. And it would help a nice guy from Chicago, now holding one of the world's most demanding jobs, who really shouldn't have to worry about tax compliance.
