U.S. Reaches TIEA With Channel Islands

On September 20, 2002, the U.S. and Guernsey signed a tax information exchange agreement. Although Jersey did not sign at the same time, the joint negotiation by Guernsey and Jersey assured the latter would sign within days. Guernsey had accorded its Advisory and Finance Committee blanket authority to nominate someone to sign the agreement without having to return to the House for specific permission whereas Jersey?s Policy and Resources Committee still required approval for Senator Pierre Horsfall to sign the agreement. The Guernsey-U.S. TIEA follows the outline of the recent U.S. TIEAs with Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands and the Netherlands Antilles. Its scope is large, requiring assistance that ?is foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws of the parties concerning the taxes covered by this agreement, including information that is foreseeably relevant to the determination, assessment, enforcement or collection of tax with respect to persons subject to such taxes, or to the investigation or prosecution of criminal matters in relation to such persons. The TIEA does not apply to the extent that an action or proceedings concerning taxes covered by the TIEA is barred by the requesting state?s statute of limitations. The TIEA does not apply to taxes imposed by states, municipalities or other political subdivisions, or possessions of a party.