B.V.I. Wednesday, August 12 – Premier and Minister of Finance Honourable Ralph O’Neal OBE left the Territory for Washington, D.C. this morning where he will sign the Territory’s 12th Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA).
The TIEA will be signed with New Zealand on Thursday, August 13 at the New Zealand Embassy in Washington D.C.
The signing means that the Territory will now be placed on the “white list” of countries which have substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standards emanating from the G-20 Summit in April this year and the guidelines provided by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Before travelling to the United States of America Honourable O’Neal said “the conclusion of this TIEA demonstrates the commitment of both the Virgin Islands and New Zealand governments to the OECD principles of transparency and effective exchange of information.”
He told the Department of Information and Public Relations “this latest agreement also demonstrates that this is very much an ongoing process for the BVI and one to which we are deeply committed.”
He stated too that “the BVI signed its first TIEA with the United States of America seven years ago and while we are pleased that we are about to sign our 12th TIEA, we recognise that the process does not stop here. We are already in negotiations with other countries and we hope to be concluding similar agreements shortly.”
“As a globally integrated financial centre, the BVI will continue to foster and develop international best practice in all areas of financial regulation, including in the area of exchange of information on tax matters,” Honourable O’Neal said.
The Premier is accompanied to Washington, D.C. by Financial Secretary Mr. Neil Smith, Executive Director of the International Finance Centre Ms. Sherri Ortiz and his Personal Assistant Ms. Marsha Gumbs.
During the absence of the Premier, Deputy Premier Honourable Dancia Penn, QC will perform the duties of Premier in accordance with Section 55 of the Virgin Islands Constitution which states that in the absence of the Premier for a period exceeding 48 hours, “the Governor shall authorise the Deputy Premier to perform the functions of the office of Premier.”
British Virgin Islands News