A landmark agreement on sharing tax information was signed on
Friday 13 December by the Isle of Man and the United States.
The intergovernmental agreement was signed by Isle of Man Chief
Minister Allan Bell and His Excellency Matthew Burzan, US
Ambassador to the UK at the US Embassy in London; it follows the
ground breaking agreement the Isle of Man signed with the UK just
over a month ago.
It follows the introduction of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance
Act (FATCA) in the US. FATCA requires financial institutions to
report information on accounts held by US taxpayers.
The Isle of Man has signed a Model 1A agreement which requires
companies in the Isle of Man to report the required information
directly to the Income Tax Division for onward transmission to the
US. It is a reciprocal agreement and information will be exchanged
from 2015.
Allan Bell, the Isle of Man Chief Minister, said:
'The Isle of Man has been at the forefront of developments in
transparency and tax information exchange for many years and
today's signing is an important next step. The signing of this
agreement further enhances the Isle of Man's reputation as a
transparent and responsible centre for international business. We
look forward to working with the US to ensure the agreement's
effective and efficient implementation.
'The Isle of Man is also fully committed to working towards a
new global standard in automatic exchange of information and is
actively engaged in the development of a single global
standard.'
Isle of Man Treasury Minister Eddie Teare MHK added:
'The signing of this Model 1A agreement is important both
domestically and internationally. I know many Isle of Man financial
institutions have been waiting for this agreement and will welcome
the certainty it provides. It will serve to enhance and strengthen
business links between the Isle of Man and the US and further
demonstrates the Island's commitment to
transparency.'
The next step for the Isle of Man will be to publish Guidance
Notes covering both the US FATCA agreement and the similar
agreement signed recently with the UK.
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