The
Cayman Islands Government announced that it has formally asked the
United Kingdom to extend its membership in the OECD/Council of the
Europe Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters
(the convention) to the Cayman Islands.
"Our
formal request to join comes after many months of substantive
discussions between Cayman and the UK, and it underscores our
continued commitment to proactive participation in matters related to
international tax cooperation," said the Minister for Financial
Services, Wayne Panton.
The
convention provides for all possible forms of administrative
co-operation between states in the assessment and collection of
taxes, in particular with a view to combating tax avoidance and
evasion. This co-operation ranges from exchange of information,
including automatic exchanges, to the recovery of foreign tax claims.
The
press release from Cayman Islands Financial Services (CIFS) said that
Cayman will not handle matters related to requests for the recovery
of foreign tax claims, or exchange of information regarding local
taxes, and social security contributions.
Minister
Panton said he looks forward to officials from Cayman and the UK’s
HM Treasury working together to complete the necessary steps for
extension.
CIFS
stated that it fully supports the Minister and the Government in the
decision to join the convention.
"The
financial services industry was consulted, through Cayman Finance,
during these discussions and we are confident that the implementation
of the bilateral agreements that will arise from the convention will
consider the needs of our jurisdiction," said CEO Gonzalo
Jalles.
He
added that the convention was a standard adhered to by more than 50
countries, and said it was crucial for Cayman's financial services
industry to remain aligned with global movements in the direction of
automatic exchange of information.
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