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Three new tax treaties with regional countries
by The Daily Herald
Posted: Nov 2, 2009 16:03 UTC
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WILLEMSTAD - Antillean Finance Minister Ersilia “Zus” de Lannooy (PNP) has signed agreements for the exchange of tax information with Antigua and Barbuda, the Cayman Islands and St. Lucia.
De Lannooy emphasised the importance for the Antilles and the future country Curaçao to pursue cooperation and joint promotion of interest with nations in the Caribbean region.
“We currently have 22 Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) to regulate the exchange of data that could be relevant regarding tax levying and collection, as well as the tracing and prosecuting of tax violations.
“Many of those TIEAs have been signed with European countries that are mentioned on the white list of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), but it is wise to seek alliance with our own region. Such relations could yield various mutual advantages,” the Minister stated.
The representatives of the three Caribbean countries concurred that cooperation was a logical step, certainly in view of the agreements that relatively small nations have and the similar challenges these nations encounter, in particular as a result of the international financial crisis. Efficient and equitable tax levying for the citizens of the treaty parties is therefore also favourable for economic development.
Solicitor-General Justin Simon, who signed for Antigua and Barbuda, indicated that “united action is the best approach.” Referring to the tourism dependency of nearly all Caribbean countries, he stated, “If areas such as North America or Europe sneeze, Caribbean countries will catch a cold. It is essential to work in close conjunction and cooperate with one another.”
Solicitor-General Samuel Bulgin of the Cayman Islands and Director of the Supervisory Financial Sector in St. Lucia Calixte Leon concurred with Simon.
The Antilles hopes to sign TIEAs with Argentina, Germany, England and France shortly. Even though the number of TIEAs and the subsequent Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) of the Antilles are steadily increasing, it is no longer of utmost importance for “white-listed” nations.
“We are not inclined to think that the minimum of 12 TIEAs with mainly white-listed nations to acquire and retain a white listing with the OECD will be increased,” said Interim Director Julian Lopez Ramirez of the Directorate Tax Affairs. “The current issue will be the compliance of the contents in your legislation and in these agreements. The OECD will pursue this during the next three years, as recently agreed on in Mexico.”
De Lannooy agreed that the signing of agreements was not the tailpiece, but the linked responsibilities which the Antilles would also have to bear. “If a treaty nation requests information, you should be able to provide such.”
Tax experts and general economists are difficult to find for government, even though Lopez Ramirez recently recruited two additional fiscal experts for Tax Affairs.
“Those who are attracted to fundamental statistics analysis and extremely accurate work regarding texts of laws and procedures could be of great value in this field. However, it definitely should be something one pursues, so that he/she will do this with interest every day,” according to Lopez Ramirez
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