Australia’s Assistant Treasurer, Nick Sherry, and the Cook Islands’ Deputy Prime Minister, Sir Terepai Maoate, have signed a comprehensive bilateral tax information exchange agreement (TIEA).
Sherry announced that the Cook Islands, one of the key offshore financial centres in the region, is the ninth jurisdiction to sign a TIEA with Australia in recent months.
An agreement on the allocation of taxing rights over certain income of individuals has also been signed.
This agreement, signed October 27, will eliminate double taxation of certain income derived by retirees, government employees and students. It will also establish an administrative mechanism to resolve transfer pricing disputes between taxpayers and the revenue authorities of Australia or Cook Islands.
Sherry added that: "Today's agreement signings with Cook Islands will send a very clear message to all of our Pacific regional neighbours that the international response to tax haven behaviour has shifted beyond recognition and all responsible jurisdictions need to step up to the challenge."
Both agreements will enter into force after the two sides have completed their relevant domestic requirements. Legislation for this purpose, Nick Sherry revealed, will be introduced into the Australian Parliament as soon as practicable.
In addition, it was announced that the two governments have signed a detailed additional benefits agreement that will see a substantial boost in technical assistance from the Australian Tax Office to Cook Islands tax authorities.
A comprehensive report in our Intelligence Report series, examining in depth the situation of offshore transparency and secrecy in a number of the most prominent jurisdictions, is available in the Lowtax Library at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/subs_reports.asp and a description of the report can be seen at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/description_report2.aspTags: offshore | e-commerce | Cook Islands | commerce
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