Anguilla agrees to share tax information

The United Kingdom yesterday signed a Tax Information Exchange Arrangement (TIEA) with Anguilla, which will allow the sharing of tax-related information to OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) standards. The Arrangement was signed in London by Chris Bryant MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Hon. Osbourne Fleming, Chief Minister of Anguilla.

Welcoming the signatures, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, the Right Hon Stephen Timms MP, said:

“Information exchange is a vital tool in ensuring that governments receive the revenues they need to resource the essential public services on which we all depend. I very much welcome the fact that Anguilla has joined the growing number of jurisdictions making good on their commitments to apply high standards of transparency and exchange of information in tax matters.”

HMRC Permanent Secretary for Tax, Dave Hartnett, added:

“The information exchange provisions in this arrangement meet international standards and are especially welcome for that. HM Revenue & Customs is playing its part to help ensure that ultimately there will be no offshore financial centres that facilitate avoidance and evasion.”

The text of the TIEA can be accessed on the internet at:
http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/international/anguilla-eol.pdf (PDF 52K)

The text will shortly be laid as a Schedule to a draft Order in Council for consideration by the House of Commons. It will then also be available from the Stationery Office. The Arrangement will come into effect as soon as each government has completed the necessary procedures to give effect to it under its domestic laws.

Notes for editors

  1. Tax Information Exchange Arrangements (TIEAs) allow governments to enforce their domestic tax laws by exchanging, on request, information relevant to a tax matter covered by the arrangements.
  2. The new TIEA with Anguilla provides for comprehensive exchange of information to the OECD and international tax standard in respect of UK direct taxes and VAT. This is the very first TIEA to be signed by Anguilla, although the Government of Anguilla expects to sign more TIEAs soon.
  3. The UK has now signed six comprehensive TIEAs, including with Guernsey in January and with Jersey in March 2009. The UK also exchanges information with over 100 countries worldwide under Double Taxation Agreements, the provisions of EU Directives and Regulations, and through the Council of Europe/OECD Convention on mutual administrative assistance in tax matters. The UK’s other TIEAs are with Bermuda (in force), the Isle of Man (in force) and the British Virgin Islands (signed in 2008). The UK also signed an arrangement with the Cayman Islands in June 2009 that provides, among other things, for information exchange to OECD standards. More TIEAs are being negotiated.

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