Cayman Furthers Transparency Drive

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

29 March 2010

The Cayman Islands government has committed to the signing of a further 16 Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) with jurisdictions of economic significance, in additional to the 14 TIEAs it has already concluded.

According to the Cayman government, the announcement further demonstrates the territory’s commitment to transparency and the exchange of tax information in cooperation with third country tax authorities, in the fight against tax evasion.

According to the government, the Caymans has already agreed to the signing of an agreement with Australia on March 30, and is awaiting dates for the conclusion of agreements with Aruba, Canada, Germany, Italy, Mexico and South Africa. Also, negotiations are in various stages with 9 additional OECD/G-20 countries.

The Cayman Islands was recently lauded by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development for its role in the Global Forum Steering Group, and also its implementation of the OECD standard.

Commenting, Caymans Islands Premier, McKeeva Bush said:

“The results of our negotiation programme along with the Negotiating Team’s deep involvement in helping shape international standards in tax transparency through active participation in key initiatives is commendable and has been recognized by the OECD and the global community.”

“We look forward to continuing this engagement and doing our part in demonstrating the effectiveness of our transparency regimes and our expertise as a jurisdiction.”

In addition to having input on OECD’s peer review process, the Cayman Islands has been identified in the first cohort of countries to undergo a peer review evaluation. This phase of the peer review involves providing comprehensive information on the implementation of Cayman’s tax transparency regimes to OECD assessors, including relevant laws, regulations and guidance notes.

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