The American Chamber of Commerce in Croatia (AmCham) presented a document to the US government requesting bilateral negotiations on a double taxation treaty between the United States and Croatia, AmCham reported on Monday.

The document, titled “Arguments in Favor of a Double Taxation Treaty Between Croatia and the United States of America” was presented to Marjorie Chorlins, Vice President for European Affairs at the US Chamber of Commerce, in Washington.

Double taxation treaties are international contracts signed by countries which aim to reduce or eliminate double taxation of income earned by residents of each country from sources within the other country. These treaties can help promote and foster closer economic cooperation by eliminating some barriers to trade and investment caused by overlapping taxing jurisdictions.

The absence of this treaty between the United States and Croatia reduces transparency in doing business, puts a considerable tax and administrative burden on Croatian companies wishing to do business in the US and vice versa, and reduces the transfer of knowledge between the two countries, AmCham said.

It also puts Croatia at a disadvantage in relation to other EU member states which already have similar treaties with the US in place, AmCham added.