UK Promises To Mitigate Effects Of Savings Tax Directive On BVI
by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London
25 November 2004

The UK government has assured the British Virgin Islands that it is taking all steps necessary to mitigate the effects of the European Savings Tax Directive on the jurisdiction’s economy, according to Caribbean Net News.

In a letter to Chief Minister Dr Orlando Smith, the UK’s Paymaster General Dawn Primarolo assured him that the BVI government will be informed promptly of any proposed amendments to the directive, which is scheduled to take effect on 1st July 2005.

Once implemented, countries within the EU and certain third countries and dependent territories will be required to share bank account information for tax purposes with the tax authority of an EU resident’s home state, although certain countries will instead apply a temporary withholding tax.

In her letter, Primarolo wrote that the UK government would endeavour to use its influence in a bid to challenge misconceptions concerning the EU directive and its implementation, and will continue to push for adoption of the legislation as geographically far afield as possible.

Furthermore, Primarolo pledged that Britain would press for a level playing field concerning OECD tax information sharing and other tax initiatives, whilst also bringing pressure to bear to secure the BVI’s removal from any international ‘blacklists’ in relation to taxation.

A comprehensive report on the OECD, FATF and other ‘offshore’ initiatives, including the EU’s Savings Tax Directive is available in the Tax News Reports Shop at http://www.tax-news.com/reportshop/