AmChamNews - American Chamber of Commerce in the Netherlands

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1961
The response was, amongst others, via protest cables from
the European Council of AmChams as well as via the individual
AmChams themselves. AmCham Netherlands was
no exception. Strongly worded cables were sent to the
Chairmen of the Ways & Means Committee and the Finance
Committee. Furthermore airmail copies of the cable were
sent with covering letters to President Lyndon Johnson and
the Secretaries of Commerce and State.
The Council, in a later report on its activities published in
1966, stated the following result: This action…succeeded in appreciably
modifying the inequities that existed in the Gore Amendment;
nevertheless, continual vigilance on this front is imperative.
That was an understatement. In October 1969, the US Senate
Finance Committee - in a surprise move (the amendment had
been in limbo for 5 years!) - passed the Gore Amendment to
reduce the federal tax exclusion on foreign source income.
Cable traffic from AmChams in Europe again burned
the bottom of the Atlantic - now to President Nixon and
the new individuals occupying the posts of Secretary of
Commerce and Secretary of State. Furthermore, individual
members were encouraged to write their local Congressman
and Senator "to join in a strong opposition to this dangerous
amendment."
The results? US expats worldwide rose to the occasion. The
Gore Amendment was again put on the back burner. But
this was not yet the end - the Gore Amendment was down
but not out. It was to be reborn in the 1970s as the Hartke-
Burke Amendment.
Speakers to the AmCham in the 1960s
There were a couple of dozen. But these names still ring a
bell in many minds in 2011:
Dean Acheson, Former US Secretary of State under President
Truman (September 1963)
Sicco Mansholt, Architect of the EEC Common Agricultural
Policy and President EEC (April 1965 and again in November
1970)
Jan Tinbergen, The first (co)recipient of the Nobel Prize for
Economics (November 1965)
HRH Prince Bernhard as Patron of the Chamber
AmCham Netherlands hosted the Council of AmChams-
Europe for their spring 1968 meeting. On this occasion His
Royal Highness the Prince of the Netherlands accepted the
patronage of the Chamber and was presented with a scroll
at the Council dinner in May 1968 at the Amsterdam Hilton
Hotel.
“Individual members were
encouraged to write their
local Congressman and
Senator...”
Prins Bernhard remained Patron of the American Chamber
of Commerce in the Netherlands until his death in December
2004 - a period of over 36 years.
The Estate Tax Treaty Project
An item of concern for many in the American community
in the Netherlands was the levy of death duties by the
Netherlands tax authorities against the estate of Americans
ÌÌJohn Kennedy succeeds Dwight Eisenhower as the 35th President of the United States.
ÌÌThe Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.
ÌÌRoger Maris hits his 61st home run of the season - beating the 34 year old record held by Babe Ruth.
ÌÌPresident Kennedy sends 18,000 'military advisors' to Vietnam.
ÌÌErnest Hemingway dies (suicide).
ÌÌThe building of the Berlin wall commences.
ÌÌAnton Geesink becomes the first non-Japanese to win a world championship in judo.
ÌÌAdolf Eichmann is tried and convicted for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Jerusalem.
ÌÌThe one millionth b/w television is sold in the Netherlands.
ÌÌBillboard Magazine's number one hits included The Lion Sleeps Tonight (The Tokens), Runaway (Del
Shannon), Surrender (Elvis Presley), and Calcutta (Lawrence Welk).
ÌÌWest Side Story comes out in a film version.
ÌÌAnd… AmCham Netherlands sees the light of day.
temporary resident in the country. Inheritance taxes were not
included in the US-NL double taxation treaty. In the past the
question of double taxation of the estate of an American who
dies in the Netherlands had led to problems. A similar risk
of double death duties was run by Dutch expats temporarily
resident in the USA.
In August 1966 the Legislative and Tax Committee (formed
earlier in the year to address this issue) reported to the
Chamber identifying the major problems in this area and
examined whether a treaty would resolve some or all of these
problems. Based on these findings the Chamber's Board
resolved that it would serve the interests of its community to
sponsor a further study of the subject and eventually prepare
a draft treaty.
To finance the project an appeal was launched to the whole
US/NL business community and the AmCham membership
to contribute to the project - either a lump sum or
an amount related to the number of expats employed by
them. The appeal generated sufficient income ($15,400) to
engage Baker & McKenzie some months later to commence
a detailed technical study. This lengthy report was completed
February 1968 and forwarded to US and NL tax authorities.
On March 26, 1968 representatives of the US and Netherlands
Governments commenced negotiations on an Estate Tax
Treaty between the two nations. This result was more than
AmCham had hoped for when the initiative was born less
than two years earlier.
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 Estates
and Inheritances was signed on July 15, 1969.
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2. (1963) liston hills, AmCham's second president with laudatory remarks at the
farewell of hans hansen (AmCham's first president)
3. farewell Dinner for hans hansen, hotel des indes, february 1963
4. i.M. edwards, AmCham president 1966 - 1967
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