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In the Cayman Islands there are no taxes other
than import duties (at varying rates) and stamp
duty at rates up to 7.5% on transfers of real
estate. There is a 1% stamp duty payable on
mortgages of less than CI$300,000, and 1.5%
on mortgages of CI$300,000 or higher; however
issues of securities, mutual fund shares or
units are normally exempt from stamp duty. See
Types of Company
for details of annual fees payable by companies,
and Offshore Legal
and Tax Regimes for details of fees
payable by various types of financial institution
and in respect of listing on the Cayman Islands
Stock Exchange.
During
2003 the Cayman government battled to avoid
inclusion in the scope of the EU's Savings Tax
Directive, but in the end was forced to give
in by the UK Treasury, and applied the information
exchange model under the Directive from 1st
July, 2005. This means that information about
interest on savings paid to citizens of European
member states is being forwarded to the tax
authorities of the member state in question.
The
Cayman Islands authorities have put a brave
face on this development, which they tried hard
to avoid.
The
Cayman Island’s then Financial Secretary Mr
George McCarthy said: "International business
is attracted to the Cayman Islands because of
the critical mass of experienced professional
advisers, our robust and effective regulatory
system, innovative products and services and
an approach to tax which is business-friendly.
We have signed and implemented commitments on
tax transparency. We have consistently asked
for fairness - a level playing field and equitable
treatment. It is not a case of us asking to
be let into your ports 'for a bit of financial
raiding', but of the Cayman Islands correcting
decades of negative spin by competing onshore
financial centres."
In
return for Cayman's acceptance of the Directive,
the UK agreed to pursue discussions on a Double
Tax Avoidance Treaty.
A new double
taxation arrangement facilitating tax information
exchange that meets OECD standards, was signed
on June 15, 2009, by Stephen Timms, then Financial
Secretary to the UK Treasury, and W McKeeva
Bush, Leader of Government Business in the Cayman
Islands.
Cayman Islands’
Financial Secretary, Kenneth Jefferson on October
2, 2009, tabled an austerity budget designed
to tackle the significant challenges the jurisdiction
is facing as a result of the financial crisis,
which left the government little choice but
to increase a multitude of taxes and fees. These
included, among others, annual company and general
registry fees, mutual fund licence fees, banking
and trust licence fees, insurance licence fees,
securities and investment business fees.
The
revenue measures were designed to raise an additional
KYD94.9m in revenues in 2009/10 and KYD126.4m
when they are in effect for a full 12-month
period.
In March
2010, the Cayman Islands government welcomed
the general thrust of the conclusions of the
Miller Report, particularly its main recommendation
that the introduction of direct taxation in
the jurisdiction should be avoided.
The Miller
Commission was created by the Cayman government
in 2009 in response to the UK government's concerns
that the global economic and financial crisis
has damaged the territory's long-term economic
and fiscal health, given its reliance on the
international financial services industry. In
a statement, Cayman Premier, McKeeva Bush, said
that the proposals have been broadly accepted
as the way forward for the islands, and will
be instrumental in drafting final proposals.
Commenting
on the content of the Miller report, Bush noted:
“On
the first recommendation, that there should
be no introduction of direct taxation in the
Cayman Islands, it would be no surprise for
you to hear that we agree with this general
conclusion and believe that ideally new revenue
measures will need to be kept at a minimum for
the short- to medium-term. However, we are committed
to examining ways to broadening the revenue
base and we have given that commitment to the
UK. We received no indications during the meetings
that the FCO (UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office)
will be pushing for direct taxes, although this
is something that they would like for us to
continue to consider in our efforts to broaden
the revenue base.”
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