Seychelles Signs First TIEA With Netherlands

by Lorys Charalambous, Tax-News.com, Cyprus

12 August 2010

A tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) has been signed between the Seychelles and the Netherlands.

The two countries have agreed to the incorporation into the TIEA of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) international standard for such agreements. It will therefore give the tax authorities of both countries a greater ability to exchange taxpayer information for specific purposes, for example the countering of money laundering or tax evasion.

The TIEA will also provide that neither tax authority can refuse to provide information solely because it does not require the information for its own domestic purposes, or because the information is held by a bank or similar institution.

This is reported to be the first such agreement entered into by the Seychelles, and the forerunner of many others, as its government attempts in the future to further develop its international business and financial services sector.

The government is aware that the signing of a network of TIEAs will be necessary if the Seychelles is to remove itself from the ‘grey list’ of jurisdictions who have not substantially implemented the OECD’s tax standard on transparency and the exchange of tax information.

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