In an announcement on Friday, the States of Guernsey confirmed that it is to sign a package of tax agreements with seven Nordic countries later this year.
Chief Minister Deputy Lyndon Trott will sign the four separate agreements,
including Tax Information Exchange Agreements (known as ‘TIEA’s)
with Denmark, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and the Faroe Islands
in Helsinki, Finland, in October.
Jersey will sign similar agreements at the same time. The Isle of Man already
has these agreements in place.
The related agreements will provide relief from double taxation in a number
of specific areas. Double tax agreements open up countries to doing business
with Guernsey because they would no longer be required to pay tax twice.
Signing the agreements will create the opportunity for Guernsey to negotiate
further agreements to avoid double taxation, combined with further information
exchange agreements, with each of the Nordic countries in the relatively near
future.
Under the terms of the agreements, Guernsey and the other signatories will
exchange bank and other information on request relating to both criminal and
civil tax matters.
For criminal tax matters information exchange can apply whether the investigation
relates to conduct before or after the coming into force of the agreement. For
civil tax matters such exchange can apply only in respect of taxable periods
beginning on or after the date of entry into force.
Deputy Trott commented:
"These agreements reinforce our independent status on tax matters and
our status in a global financial services industry.
"Securing the best available benefits in these negotiations is important
for the island’s competitive position and we believe it will open up some
real economic advantages for certain sectors of our economy."
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