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Belize signs tax information exchange treaty with the UK

GeneralBelize signs tax information exchange treaty with the UK
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) today posted on its website a freshly concluded agreement in London for the exchange of tax information between Belize and the United Kingdom.
  
High Commissioner of Belize to the UK, Kamela Palma, is listed as the signatory for Belize, while Financial Secretary of the UK treasury, Stephen Timms, MP, is listed as the signatory for the Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
  
In the UK, a political faction opposed to British billionaire Michael Ashcroft is excited over the announcement made by Budget Chancellor Alistair Darling of the signing, and they question whether it would open new windows to peer into Ashcroft’s true tax status in Belize.
  
Ashcroft was recently revealed to have “non-dom” status in the UK, meaning that he is classified as a non–domiciled resident, living in the UK but with links to Belize, which deems him a temporary resident for tax purposes. A finance source of the UK explains that “non-dom” persons receive special tax treatment in respect of income and gains arising outside the UK.
  
There are wider implications of signing the tax agreement, however. According to Belize Prime Minister Dean Barrow, in an interview with our newspaper in February, the measures could kill the offshore industry that so many small countries rely on as a means of economic diversification. The signings could cause a falloff in offshore business.
  
“They want to ensure that their citizens don’t escape their tax net,” said Barrow.
  
“There is no way to fight this,” Barrow, the Minister of Finance, had said, adding that Belize should be in compliance by the March deadline, even though he thinks the measures are “most unfair, most unjust and most immoral.”
  
Belize has reportedly been on a “gray list” of countries considered “tax havens” to first world citizens, and was facing a threat of sanctions this month for not signing a series of Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs).
  
Belize had also signed tax information exchange agreements with the US, Belgium, and The Netherlands. There are seven (7) agreements pending with the Nordic countries, and two (2) more pending with the Dutch-speaking Caribbean islands, the Prime Minister further informed.

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