Liechtenstein's newly-installed Prime Minister, Klaus Tschuetscher, has announced that the Principality's government will shortly begin negotiations for a tax information exchange agreement with the United Kingdom.
In his first major announcement since taking over from Otmar Hasler as Liechtenstein's Prime Minister, Tschuetscher revealed that after preliminary contacts with the British government, negotiations towards a tax agreement are scheduled to start on April 1. It is thought that the accord will take the form of a 'stand-alone' Tax and Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA), which is the Principality's favoured method of meeting OECD demands on fiscal transparency.
Liechtenstein delegations have also met with German and other authorities for preliminary talks.
Tschuetscher disclosed that Liechtenstein is seeking to conclude comprehensive bilateral agreements that go beyond the OECD standards and that encourage voluntary disclosure of untaxed assets. “We anticipate that such an approach could pave the way not only for the existing clients of our own financial centre but also for clients of other financial centres. This is an important element of our vision,” he said.
Dave Hartnett, Permanent Secretary for Tax at the HM Revenue and Customs, the UK tax authority, commented: “We recognise that Liechtenstein's specific approach could very well provide transparency in tax matters for the United Kingdom and other countries. We are now looking forward to constructive negotiations with the Liechtenstein government and the swift implementation of a solution."
According to the United States Treasury Department, a TIEA signed by the governments of US and Liechtenstein in December 2008 will permit the US to seek information from Liechtenstein on all types of federal taxes, and in both civil and criminal matters. However only specific tax authorities are allowed to receive and send information under the agreement. Information exchanged pursuant to the TIEA may be used only for tax purposes, and the competent authorities must safeguard the confidentiality of information exchanged pursuant to the TIEA.
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