Cayman signs TIEA with Portugal on home ground
(CNS): The Cayman Islands has now signed its 17th Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) this time on home turf. The agreement with Portugal was signed by Professor Sérgio Vasques, Secretary of State for Tax Affairs and Premier McKeeva Bush who thanked the Portuguese delegation for coming to Cayman to sign the TIEA on Cayman soil. He acknowledged the southern European country’s presence in Cayman’s financial industry and the common ground of a maritime history he said that Cayman and Portugal shared at a special reception for both the visiting delegation and Portuguese members of the financial community.
“I know you are only with us for a short time, but I hope you will be able to get a sense of what we, in the Cayman Islands, are all about and the unique attributes of our country,” Bush said to the visiting delegates. “I realise our two countries are worlds away geographically, but from what I understand, we have a common thread in our history – we both share a seafaring heritage that has greatly contributed to our lifestyles and cultures.”
The premier noted that Cayman’s maritime history was not only a source of pride but had fostered resilience and tenacity in the people.
“The other connection we have is through some of Portugal’s major financial institutions which have a presence in the Cayman Islands and are licensed by our regulator, the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority,” the premier added. “We see this as a sign of confidence in our financial services industry and we hope that this agreement may help expand opportunities for more commercial activities between our two countries.”
Bush said Cayman valued the commercial relationship and the trust that many Portuguese organisations have placed in the Cayman Islands as a jurisdiction. “The Government also values the hard work and meaningful discussions between our two excellent negotiating teams which culminated in this agreement. We want to congratulate and recognise the individuals involved,” he told the guests.
The Cayman Islands is on the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) ‘white list’ of jurisdictions that substantially implement international tax standards and has 17 bilateral arrangements with the following countries for the provision of tax information: Aruba, Australia, Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, NetherlandsAntilles, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Sweden, the United States and the United Kingdom. Copies of the agreements can be found via the following link: www.tia.gov.ky/html/arrangements.htm.
Category: Business
