New Zealand to make Cayman’s 12th tax deal

(CNS): Although New Zealand is likely to be the twelfth and probably Cayman’s most important Tax Information Exchange Agreement, as it should see the jurisdiction removed from the infamous OECD ‘grey’ list, the Leader of Government Business, McKeeva Bush will not be heading ‘down under’ to sign on the dotted line as he said its too far to travel. He said that government is trying to arrange to meet the New Zealand leader in Washington instead as soon as possible for the official signing ceremony.  Although there have been recent concerns that 12 agreements may still not be enough to make the white list Bush said he was confident that it was.

“The Cayman Islands now has 11 such bilateral agreements in place. It is my intention to secure the 12th agreement in short order so that the Cayman Islands can be removed from the OECD Grey List. I realise there are some concerns being aired regarding the possibility of the OECD moving the goal post so to speak or that the stated number of 12 agreements may be changed.  However based on the discussions I have had with OECD officials, this is highly unlikely,” the LoGB said at a media briefing on Friday. He said there was a need to keep focused and he was confident that the OECD was recognising Cayman’s commitment to the agreements.

Noting that New Zealand was most likely to be the 12th TIEA Cayman was alas at the advanced stages of negotiation with several other countries, including Italy, Mexico, Germany, France, Australia, Portugal and Canada,

“Having agreements at the “technical level” means that we have concluded negotiations and senior representatives from both countries have signed off on the text,” Bush said. “Each country will go through the necessary steps to obtain approval at the ministerial/cabinet level after which the official signing will be arranged. The length of time it takes to sign officially will vary from country to country depending on their unique legislative and approval processes.”

He explained that based on our discussion with the various countries in most cases, the Cayman Islands will be able to sign official agreements with these countries by September at the latest when he intended to lead a delegation to the OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information in Mexico.

“Our attendance at this meeting will enable the Cayman Islands to have as seat and a voice at the table during the important discussions on the status of the OECD transparency initiative generally and what type of framework may be put in place to monitor the process of implementation across countries,” the LoGB added. “It is my strong view that it is best to participate in these initiatives as it gives us not only full insight into what is being planned and discussed, but also an opportunity to provide our own direct input into a process which will inevitably affect us in the future.”

Asked how if there was any progress on the OECD’s judgement of the unilateral mechanism, legislation for which Cayman designed and passed last year which the previous administration had hoped would sway the OECD into placing Cayman on the white list, Bush said he did not hold out much hope for it.

He said that during his recent travels in Europe there was considerable cynicism and it was safer for Cayman to focus on bi-lateral treaties. “When we went to France it was almost as though there was laughter in corridors about it not much hope,” he said. “And because of the G20 meeting in September we can’t wait on an unknown process we have to get the bi-lateral treaties signed.”

Bush added that government remained committed to protecting both the commercial success of the industry and Cayman’s good reputation as a well regulated and cooperative jurisdiction.