British overseas territories are to work more closely with the UK and other European countries in the fight against tax evasion, the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne announced today (2 May).
Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat and the Turks and Caicos Islands have all announced that they have signed a bilateral tax agreement with the UK and a multi-lateral agreement with the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain (known as the ‘G5′).
According to a statement released by HM Treasury, the five overseas territories will pass on bank account details including names, addresses, dates of birth, account numbers, account balances and payment details. This will also include information about accounts held by entities such as trusts.
George Osborne commented: “This represents a significant step forward in tackling illicit finance and sets the global standard in the fight against tax evasion”
There are 14 British overseas territories: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Indian Ocean Territory, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn (including Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands), St Helena and St Helena Dependencies (Ascension and Tristan da Cunha), South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands.
They have their own tax systems which tend to be characterised by low or zero rates of income tax and an absence of corporation tax. The larger territories are offshore financial centres (OFCs).
The financial services industry is one of the main contributors to the economies of Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and Gibraltar and, to a lesser extent, Anguilla, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and Montserrat.