Addressing the First House of Assembly on September 9, British Virgin Islands Premier, Ralph O’Neal announced that, in line with the jurisdiction’s commitment to acting as a responsible financial services centre, he would travel to the Netherlands to sign the islands’ thirteenth tax information exchange agreement on Friday, September 11.
The agreement marks a significant milestone for the territory, O’Neal noted, observing that it illustrates the jurisdiction's continued commitment to ensuring transparency in the operation of the financial services sector and to the principles of good governance, despite surpassing the twelve TIEA quota set by the G20 on April 2.
“According to the guidelines provided by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the new international tax standard emanating from the G-20 Summit in April this year, jurisdictions are required to sign at least 12 TIEAs. The signing on Friday, September 11 will provide proof of the BVI’s commitment to not simply achieving this minimum standard but surpassing it,” O’Neal stated.
O’Neal noted that on August 13 the British Virgin Islands gained OECD ‘white list’ status following the conclusion of its twelfth TIEA with New Zealand, placing the territory on the list of jurisdictions deemed to have substantially implemented the internationally-agreed standard on transparency and information exchange.
“On that occasion I gave assurances that we will not stop there but rather, we will continue to pursue negotiations with a view to signing similar agreements with other countries. While we will primarily pursue these agreements with those countries which are members of the OECD, we are also willing to enter into similar agreements with other countries with which we conduct international business,” O’Neal revealed, continuing:
“Already we are in the process of finalising a TIEA with Ireland and we expect that agreement to be signed in the near future. Additionally, we plan to begin negotiations with other countries including Germany and Mexico shortly.”
O’Neal added, according to a government statement, that:
“Financial services as you are all aware generate considerable revenue for the local economy. As a premier international financial services jurisdiction, the Territory must jealously guard this reputation.”
“The highly competitive nature of the environment in which we operate coupled with the downturn being experienced in the global economy, makes it even more imperative that we do all in our power to maintain and further improve our standing in the international arena, the signing of these agreements is one such way to achieve that.”
“I cannot emphasise enough the commitment of the BVI to transparency in the operation of the financial services sector and our willingness to work collaboratively with countries that share the same outlook. These Tax Information Exchange Agreements underscore this commitment as they provide for the exchange of information between signatories based on requests relating to specific criminal or civil tax matters that are under investigation.”
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