HAMILTON, Bermuda – Bermuda and New Zealand will soon sign a bilateral agreement that provides for full exchange of information on criminal and civil tax matters between the two countries, Bermuda’s Minister of Finance, the Hon. Paula A. Cox announced Monday, March 30.
The signing of the Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) will take place at a ceremony at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC on 16 April, the same day that Minister Cox recently announced Bermuda will sign seven TIEAs with member countries of the Nordic group.
“I welcome the signing of this important agreement with New Zealand. The two countries started this process three years ago and have finalised the details of the exchange agreement and related treaties pertaining to allocation of taxing rights. New Zealand in its announcement has recognised Bermuda as one of the first international finance centres to engage in partnership with OECD countries in the worldwide effort to achieve greater transparency and co-operation in tax matters.
The TIEA will enable tax authorities to access information about any persons who are seeking to evade payment of tax and will also help disclose assets that have not been reported in their home country. Information to be exchanged includes information on beneficial ownership of companies in the whole ownership chain; settlors, trustees and beneficiaries of trusts, and information held by banks and financial institutions.
Bermuda has signed TIEAs with the USA in 1988, Australia in 2005 and the UK in 2007.
On April 16, 2009 at signing ceremonies to be held in Washington DC Bermuda will sign 8 TIEAs, one with New Zealand and seven with members of the Nordic Group.
Minister Cox said: “This will be an historic occasion as no other country has signed more than seven TIEAs in one day and it demonstrates Bermuda’s pro active and high level of commitment to support the OECD initiative to implement standards for information exchange and transparency and strengthens the developments worldwide in tax cooperation.”
Minister Cox added: “My counterpart in New Zealand, Revenue Minister the Hon. Peter Dunne and I share the goodwill that has enhanced relations between our countries by the successful negotiation of the TIEA. With all of the recent activity blurring the line between already fully compliant countries and those playing catch-up to international standards, I applaud the Hon. Peter Dunne for noting that Bermuda agreed to work with New Zealand on a TIEA long before the recent developments. This is welcomed recognition coming as it does after the OECD itself in November 2008 commended Bermuda as one of only seven countries that were fully compliant with the OECD standard.”
“In the near future Bermuda is poised to sign a TIEA with Germany. Negotiations with Germany are completed and signing logistics are currently being finalised. We have had very positive dialogue with Germany and there is a higher level of goodwill between Bermuda and Germany”, noted Minister Cox.
“Bermuda’s long standing position of transparency and international cooperation with respect to tax matters differentiates Bermuda from those countries making recent efforts to close the gap.”
