811.512351 Double/216: Telegram
The Chargé in France ( Marriner ) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 24—9:45 a.m.]
955. The Chamber of Deputies Saturday evening on the demand of the Government passed the law giving its assent to the double taxation convention. Monsieur Leon Baréty the rapporteur stressed the fact [Page 175] that the long delay in the application had brought about a difficult situation and had resulted in an amendment to the finance act of 1934 which would inflict retaliatory measures on countries discriminating against American firms and citizens.21
The rapporteur stated that the Finance Commission felt that the present convention in its ensemble was frankly advantageous to American citizens and that therefore it must formulate certain reservations. To this end the President of the Council, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Finance have agreed in principle and promised that an annex (to the avenant) to the present convention should be drawn up to insure French citizens in the United States an analogous situation to that established for American citizens residing in France. The Ministers likewise engaged themselves to attempt to obtain from the American Government a modification of the regime applied to French citizens concerning taxes derived from stock exchange operations.
There was no discussion of the rapporteur’s report and the ratification was authorized without opposition with a provision that after an understanding with the American authorities the convention might come into force at an anterior date to that set forth in article 10 of the convention.
The whole matter now goes to the Senate which meets again on January 8.
[The convention of April 27, 1932, was ratified by France, April 8, 1935; ratifications were exchanged at Paris, April 9, 1935; it was proclaimed by the President of the United States, April 16, 1935.]
- 48 Stat. 680, 703.↩