Cayman Islands And Portugal Sign TIEA

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

20 May 2010

Cayman Island Premier, McKeeva Bush, and Sergio Vasques, the Portuguese Secretary of State of Tax Affairs, signed an agreement for the exchange of tax information in a ceremony on May 13.

The Tax Information Exchange Agreement is based on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development model agreement, which allows the exchange of tax information between the two countries' tax authorities upon request where there is evidence of the perpetration of a tax crime.

Speaking following the signing, Bush said:

“It is my pleasure to sign a tax information exchange agreement this afternoon. We are particularly pleased to be signing this agreement on Cayman soil and are grateful to the Portuguese delegation for taking the time to visit our shores.”

“Some of Portugal’s major financial institutions which have a presence in the Cayman Islands and are licensed by our regulator, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority. We see this as a sign of confidence in our financial services industry and we hope that this agreement may help expand opportunities for more commercial activities between our two countries.”

“The Cayman Islands prides itself as a major international financial services centre that guarantees high standards of services underpinned by internationally recognized and accepted levels of regulation. We look forward to many more years of productive and successful commercial and government-to-government activities between Portugal and the Cayman Islands.”

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