Cayman financial sector supports information exchange with EU

Thursday, April 1, 2004

GEORGE TOWN, Cayman Islands: The Cayman Islands Financial Services Association has expressed support for the government's decision to opt for exchange of banking information when the European Savings Tax Directive comes into force, scheduled for January 2005. 

"Should the Directive become fully implemented as planned in January 2005, we believe that automatic information exchange would be consistent with the Cayman Islands' promotion of transparency in its financial services industry", commented Eduardo D'Angelo P. Silva, a Director of CIFSA. 

Many other jurisdictions, including the UK dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, have opted to implement a transitional withholding tax on interest income for a period of seven years before exchanging information with the tax authorities of EU member states. 

However, Cayman Islands Financial Secretary George McCarthy stated that "information exchange would not pose a difficulty to the vast majority of our industry." 

He added: "We have always set a high standard of integrity and we do not intend to change that policy now." 

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