Germany And St Vincent Sign TIEA

by Phillip Morton, Investors Offshore.com

02 April 2010

Germany and the Caribbean territory of St. Vincent and the Grenadines signed a tax information exchange agreement in London on March 29, 2010.

The agreement, based on the OECD model convention, was signed by the German plenipotentiary in London, Georg Boomgaarden, and the High Commissioner of St. Vincent and the Grenadines in London, Cenio Lewis.

According to the German Ministry of Finance, the agreement grants German authorities access to information to aid German prosecutors in civil and criminal tax matters. This may include banking information and information on the owners of companies and other legal entities registered by German taxpayers in the jurisdiction. According to the Ministry, the text allows the German authorities to seek information even where there is not evidence of the perpetration of a tax offense.

"We welcome the willingness of St. Vincent and the Grenadines... to cooperate with us based on the standards of the OECD to help reduce tax evasion," said the German Finance Ministry in a statement. "The agreement also underlines the efforts of the federal government to expand the network of bilateral agreements to exchange tax information, particularly in relation to states and territories with financial centers."

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