Liechtenstein And The UK Enter Tax Info Sharing Agreement
By: Ainsley Brown
It has been reported in the Times that ¨up to 5, 000 British investors have an estimated £3 billion stashed away in secret accounts in Liechtenstein.
It is a good thing then, well good from the perspective of HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), that Liechtenstein and the UK Government have reached an agreement on the sharing of tax information.
This move by Liechtenstein was prompted by mounting international pressure, not the least of which was from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and G20. The OECD recently removed Liechtenstein, along with Andorra and Monaco from its uncooperative tax haven black list and placed it in the grey category. In being grey listed Liechtenstein has agreed in principle to international tax information sharing and disclosure standards and is making positive moves towards implementing them. One such move is the signing of various Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) with the UK and others.
