The Island’s Chief Minister, Frank Walker, signed the papers in the Hague in June, but the two agreements and memorandum of understanding will not come into force unless States Members approve the regulations, which were lodged au greffe on 11 December.
br>The two new propositions are the Draft Taxation Regulations (Exchange of Information with Third World Countries) Regulations and the Ratification of the Agreement between the Netherlands and Jersey.
In ratifying the agreement for civil tax matters Jersey would be following in the footsteps of competitor jurisdiction the Isle of Man.
In addition Jersey already has a similar agreement with the United States, which was established in 2002.
br>But the wisdom of commiting the Island to a law which will allow information about the tax affairs of clients of financial services firms to be passed to the Dutch authorities has been questioned recently by finance industry spokesmen, who say it could drive business away.
This latest deal is part of an ongoing commitment by the Island which started in 2002 to support an OECD tax initiative on transparency and information exchange.
At that time the Island had been on a blacklist of so-called ‘uncooperative’ jurisdictions and the commitment was seen as a necessary step to enhancing Jersey’s reputation on the international stage.
