Belize Signs TIEAs With Nordic Countries

by Ulrika Lomas, Tax-News.com, Brussels

22 September 2010

Belize has signed Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with seven Nordic countries, which will allow for the sharing of tax-related information in accordance with the standards established by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The agreements with Belize were signed on September 15, 2010 by Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Greenland, Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

Upon request, the agreements provide for supply of:

• "Information held by banks, other financial institutions, and any person acting in an agency or fiduciary capacity including nominees and trustees"; and
• "Information regarding the ownership of companies, partnerships, trusts, foundations, 'Anstalten' and other persons."

Such requests need to be accompanied by a number of statements including the tax purpose for which the information is sought and confirmation that the request is in conformity with the law and administrative practices of the applicant's country, and the information is obtainable under these laws or in the normal course of administrative practice.

Belize has already signed TIEAs with the United Kingdom, Belgium, Australia and the Netherlands, and initialed TIEAs with Ireland, Italy, Mexico, and Aruba. It has also been in discussions with the United States, Poland, and Canada on agreements based on the OECD model.

A comprehensive report in our Intelligence Report series, examining in depth the situation of offshore transparency and secrecy in a number of the most prominent jurisdictions, is available in the Lowtax Library at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/subs_reports.asp and a description of the report can be seen at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/description_report2.asp

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