Gavin St Pier, Minister of the Treasury and Resources Department, signed the agreement on behalf of the Government of Guernsey during a meeting in London with Moftah Jassim Al Moftah, Director of Public Revenues and Taxes Department at Ministry of Economy and Finance who signed on behalf of the State of Qatar, reports Guernsey Finance.
Fiona Le Poidevin, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance – the promotional agency for the Island’s finance industry, said: “Signing a DTA with Qatar is another important step in diversifying the business base of Guernsey’s finance industry. We have been actively promoting Guernsey’s financial services offering within the Middle East for several years and more recently a number of the Island’s firms have established offices in the region.
“The DTA between Guernsey and Qatar deepens the relationship and it also offers significant potential for expanding financial services business. It provides clarity and certainty on matters of taxation, which makes it more attractive to conduct business between the two jurisdictions.
“A number of Middle Eastern fund managers already have funds domiciled and administered in Guernsey and the Island’s fiduciary providers are well versed in providing wealth management services to clients from the region. This DTA makes Guernsey an even more attractive proposition at a time when developments in both the corporate and private client fields mean that we are extremely well placed to cater for a global client base.
“For example, Guernsey’s position close to Europe but outside the EU means that we can provide a range of options for fund managers in relation to the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD). In addition, we have also expanded our offering for fiduciary clients through the introduction of Guernsey Foundations and world-first image rights legislation. Taken together, these developments, including the signing of a DTA with Qatar and the expectation of further similar agreements being signed in the near future with other Gulf states, mean that Guernsey is extremely well positioned to service clients from the Middle East going forward.”
The agreement between Guernsey and Qatar means that Guernsey has now signed 17 DTAs, comprising 11 ‘partial’ DTAs and 6 ‘full’ DTAs, which are with the Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta, Qatar, Singapore and the UK.
In addition, Guernsey has signed 40 Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs), including with 16 members of the G20.
Guernsey has also agreed in principle to sign an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the US in relation to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and to adopt similar arrangements in relation to the UK.
Miss Le Poidevin added: “Signing this DTA is yet another example of Guernsey’s commitment to being at the forefront of international efforts to enhance transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. In 2005, Guernsey adopted measures equivalent to the EU Saving Tax Directive (EUSTD); Guernsey became an original member of the OECD ‘white list’ in 2009; in 2011, Guernsey adopted automatic exchange of information under the terms of the EUSTD; more recently Guernsey has agreed to an IGA with the US in relation to FATCA and similar arrangements with the UK; and we also continue to add to the number of TIEAs and DTAs we have signed. This demonstrates our long standing and continuing commitment to being an international finance centre of the highest regard.”