The Guernsey government has noted the recent signing of a Tax Information Exchange
Agreement (TIEA) with Portugal, concluded in London.
The agreement was signed by Guernsey’s Chief Minister, Lyndon Trott and
the Portuguese Secretary of State for Tax Affairs, Sergio Vasques at the Portuguese
Embassy in London on July 9.
Under the terms of the TIEA, Guernsey will, on request, exchange bank and
other information relating to both criminal and civil tax matters.
The signing of the latest agreement for Guernsey brings the territory’s
tally of agreements that are compliant with the Organization for Economic and
Cooperation Development’s internationally-agreed standard to sixteen.
The island has already been recognized for its commitment to tax transparency through
information exchange in its April 2009 inclusion on the G20’s ‘white
list’ of 'territories that have substantially implemented the internationally-agreed standard.'
Commenting, Trott, said: “Our
recognition by the G20 was an important milestone for Guernsey’s future
as a premier international financial centre, but we have not stopped there.
Guernsey is committed, not only to ensuring that it has completed its programme
of entering into tax information exchange agreements with all its significant
trading partners, but also to ensuring the prompt and effective implementation
of these agreements.”
The signing of the Portuguese TIEA came alongside important meetings with
the new UK government minister with responsibility for links with the Crown
Dependencies. The new Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, Lord Tom
McNally, held meetings with Trott and other delegates from the two other Crown
Dependencies – Jersey and the Isle of Man – who also on July 9 signed
similar agreements with Portugal. Guernsey also attended a number of meetings
and briefings attended by UK parliamentarians.
“Lord McNally and I had a very constructive conversation on a wide range
of issues relevant to the Guernsey-UK working relationship. It was a highly
productive discussion, and I am looking forward to working closely with him
over the coming months and years,” Trott said of the meetings.
“Aside from meeting the new Minister, I have had the opportunity to brief
a number of very influential UK Parliamentarians on issues of direct relevance
to the people and economy of Guernsey. We already have strong relationships
across the new coalition government in the UK – this visit was about building
even stronger relationships with the government and across the UK Parliament.”
LAWANDTAX-NEWS.COM
