Cayman agrees to national action plan on ownership
The following is the complete statement by the Cayman Islands Government they released on Saturday (15) where they state they have agreed to publish a national action plan on Beneficial Ownership and to play an active part in the new pilot initiative of multilateral automatic tax information exchange launched by the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
Statement by the Cayman Islands Government following the UK Prime Minister’s Meeting on Tax Evasion
Saturday, 15 June 2013 | London
We warmly welcome our meeting with the Prime Minister today to discuss Tax, Trade and Transparency, where we had a very constructive exchange of views on the practical steps needed to tackle the global problem of tax evasion.
As part of our contribution to advancing this key global agenda and to create a level playing field right across the world we have agreed 3 important steps:
1. To play an active part in the new pilot initiative of multilateral automatic tax information exchange launched by the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.
2. To publish a national action plan on Beneficial Ownership
3. To commit to joining the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance on Tax Matters
We support the Prime Minister’s view that as we free up the world economy we must make sure openness delivers benefits for rich economies and developing countries alike and that we maintain confidence in the fairness and effectiveness of our tax systems and in the operation of global markets. Tackling tax evasion and fraud is a global responsibility in which we will continue to play our full part.
We welcome the Prime Minister’s leadership and willingness to work in partnership with us in seeking to achieve a step change in international standards through the UK’s G8 Presidency.
As part of our continuing commitment to tackling tax evasion and fraud, we have also undertaken to publish an Action Plan, at the same time as those G8 countries publishing plans in Lough Erne, setting out the concrete steps, where needed, to fully implement the Financial Action Task Force standards to further increase transparency on beneficial ownership information and to ensure that this information is freely available to law enforcement and tax authorities.
The Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters is an important global instrument, which builds upon our existing network of bilateral agreements for exchanging information between tax authorities. The Convention offers an accessible route to increase the number of jurisdictions which will be able to benefit from information exchange. We commit to joining the Convention and will be requesting its extension to our jurisdiction as rapidly as possible, subject to our domestic procedures.
We are committed to continuing to playing a leading role in delivering a responsible and effectively regulated global business environment and to tackling the global problem of tax evasion.
-end-
For further information contact:
CAYMAN ISLANDS UNITED KINGDOM
Angela Piercy Jack Irvine
Head of Communications and Public Affairs Executive Chairman
Ministry for Financial Services Media House International
(345) 525 2266 07860 457 456
[email protected] [email protected]
www.caymanfinance.gov.ky www.mediahouse.co.uk
Two related stories:
UK’s David Cameron Talks Tax With Cayman Islands Officials
By the Caribbean Journal staff, From Caribbean Journal
United Kingdom Prime Minister David Cameron met Saturday with Cayman Islands officials on the issue of “tax, trade and transparency” in London.
In a statement, Cayman’s government called the talks a “very constructive exchange of views on the practical steps needed to tackle the global problem of tax evasion.”
Cayman said it has agreed to three important steps in that regard, including playing an “active part” in a new pilot initiative on automatic sharing of tax information, publishing national action plans on beneficial ownership, and committing to joining the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance on Tax Matters.
“We support the Prime Minister’s view that as we free up the world economy we must make sure openness delivers benefits for rich economies and developing countries alike and that we maintain confidence in the fairness and effectiveness of our tax systems and in the operation of global markets,” Cayman’s government said. “Tackling tax evasion and fraud is a global responsibility in which we will continue to play our full part.”
The meeting came within the context of the “Open for Growth” event, ahead of the G8 Summit.
In his speech at the event, Cameron said he would push for agreements to fight for what he called the “scourge of tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance.”
“That means automatic exchange of information between our tax authorities – so those who want to evade taxes have nowhere to hide,” he said. “It means getting companies to report to tax authorities where they earn their profits and where they pay their tax. It also means transparency about who owns which companies and who benefits from it – so called beneficial ownership.”
For more on this story go to:
http://www.caribjournal.com/2013/06/15/uks-david-cameron-talks-tax-with-cayman-islands-officials/
David Cameron Reaches Agreement With British ‘Tax Havens’ Like Jersey, Cayman Islands On Tax Evasion
From Huffington Post UK
British ‘tax havens’ like the Cayman Islands and Jersey have agreed to ‘get their house in order’ in a new deal on tax evasion secured by the Prime Minister ahead of the G8 summit.
David Cameron said Britain’s network of overseas territories and Crown dependencies have signed up to a new clampdown on tax evasion, aimed at promoting transparency and exchange of information between tax jurisdictions.
Many of the islands and outposts, like Jersey and the Cayman Islands, are regarded as tax havens – a description they bitterly dispute – where wealthy individuals can shield their fortunes from the prying eyes of onshore tax authorities.
Luke Harman and Mark Webber, dressed as bankers, sit on The Isle of Shady, a pop-up tax haven set up by Enough Food for Everyone IF campaigners
The Prime Minister hailed the agreement as a “very positive step forward” which would strengthen his hand in talks with the other G8 leaders in which he has made improving international tax compliance a key issue.
The Prime Minister said they had had a “very good” meeting.
“Let’s be clear why this tax issue matters. If companies don’t pay their taxes or individuals don’t pay their taxes we all suffer as a result,” he said.
“It is important we are getting our house in order. What the Crown dependencies – places like Jersey and the Isle of Man, and the overseas territories – places like the Cayman Islands – have signed up to is basically the existing and the new standards for exchanging tax information. That is absolutely vital.
“It is a very positive step forward and it means that Britain’s voice in the G8 and the campaigning on this issue around the world for proper taxes, proper companies and proper laws … will be stronger.”
Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Anguilla, Montserrat, the Turks and Caicos Islands, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man were all represented at the talks.
Under the agreement, they will trial an international pilot programme which will see the automatic exchange of information between tax jurisdictions while also signing up to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) convention on mutual assistance on tax.
They also agreed to publish national action plans on beneficial ownership – declaring the true owners of so-called “shell” companies.
In a joint statement, the chief ministers of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man said they welcomed Cameron’s willingness to work in partnership with them on improving international standards.
“We are committed to continuing to play a leading role in delivering a responsible and effectively regulated global business environment and in tackling the global problem of tax evasion,” he said.
Police officers wearing G8 branded caps patrol streets of the city centre in Belfast
Earlier, Cameron announced plans to establish a register of beneficial ownership in the UK as part of his drive for transparency on tax.
“We need to know more about who owns which company – beneficial ownership – because that is how a lot of people and a lot of companies avoid tax, using secretive companies in secretive locations,” he said.
“The way to sweep away the secrecy and get to the bottom of tax avoidance and tax evasion and cracking down on corruption is to have a register of beneficial ownerships so the tax authorities can see who owns beneficially every company.”
Under the proposals, UK-registered companies will have a legal obligation to obtain and hold adequate, accurate and current information on the ultimate owner who benefits from the company.
The information would be entered on a central register that would be maintained by Companies House.
Initially, the information would only be made available in Britain to authorities such as Revenue and Customs, but ministers are to consult on whether it should be made public.
Speaking at a pre-summit conference at Lancaster House, the Prime Minister indicated that while he would like to make the register public, it would depend on other nations being prepared to follow suit.
“The most important thing here is that that information is available to tax authorities. It will be their first port of call to try to uncover corrupt payments or tax evasion,” he said.
“Personally, I would hope the whole world will move towards public registers of beneficial ownership, but I want to maximise the leverage that the UK has got over others in terms of each step in turn.
“Also, I want to make sure that business and enterprise comes with us on this debate.”
The agreement was cautiously welcomed by poverty campaigners like Oxfam, Save The Children and ActionAid.
For more on this story go to:
