St Kitts and Nevis signs more tax info sharing agreements

During a recent press conference, Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas told reporters his government would soon sign TIEAs with several countries including Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Additional agreements are also being sought with New Zealand, Aust

BASSETERRE, St Kitts, September 16, 2009 – St Kitts and Nevis has signed two more tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) as it inches towards the standards expected by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The deals signed with the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba brings to four the number of TIEAs which the twin-island federation has entered. The first two were Denmark and the Netherlands as the OECD Global Forum on Taxation was held in Mexico City earlier this month.

The signing ceremony took place in The Hague, the Dutch capital, where St. Kitts and Nevis High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, His Excellency Dr. James Williams, signed the treaties on behalf of the Federation with representatives from the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba.

Chief Executive Officer of the St Kitts Investment Promotion Agency (SKIPA), Shawna Lake, said the country has already negotiated the text for additional TIEAs, but is awaiting indication from the relevant countries about the dates for the actual signing of these agreements.

During a recent press conference, Prime Minister Dr Denzil Douglas told reporters his government would soon sign TIEAs with several countries including Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Additional agreements are also being sought with New Zealand, Australia, and Canada as the government seeks to move from the OECD’s ‘grey list’ to the ‘white list.’

In April, the Paris-based OECD placed St Kitts and Nevis and several other Caribbean countries on its ‘grey list’ of jurisdictions that “have committed to the internationally agreed tax standard, but have not yet substantially implemented.”

To move up to the ‘white list’ of jurisdictions that “have substantially implemented the international tax standard,” countries are required to sign TIEAs with at least 12 OECD member countries.