Ireland And Liechtenstein agree OECD to the exchange of information re tax matters

The Republic of Ireland is continuing to tighten the rules that can be used against money launderers, in this case tax evaders.

At the signing ceremony, on 13th October 2009, The Minister for Finance, Mr. Brian Lenihan T.D., stated:

"Ireland fully supports the renewed efforts of the OECD on transparency and effective exchange of information on tax matters. Ireland has a system of full exchange of information and is fully in compliance with OECD standards. We agree that all countries and territories that have not yet committed to the OECD standards, including major financial centres, should do so.”

This Exchange Agreement will allow the Irish Revenue Commissioners to request information which is relevant to an Irish tax investigation directly from the authorities in Liechtenstein. Information that would typically be relevant is bank account information and beneficial ownership information for companies and other entities established in Liechtenstein.

This Exchange Agreement with Liechtenstein is the ninth that Ireland has signed, following the signing of agreements with the Isle of Man, Guernsey, Jersey, the Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Anguilla, the Turks and Caicos Islands and Bermuda.

With thanks to our friends at the Association of International Accountants.

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Implementation of the 3rd AML Directive

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The AML buffs amongst you will recall that the Member States of the European Union had to transpose the 3rd AML Directive (Directive 2005/60/EC) into national law by 15 December 2007 at the latest. As if that was going to happen!

Anyway, the European Commission published an update in July 2009. They now say that almost all Member States have fully aligned their national legislation with this Directive.

The list of exceptions, however, makes for interesting reading:
§ The Republic of Ireland and Spain where the implementation measures are still pending;
§ Belgium, France and Poland have only partially implemented the Directive.

Interestingly all Member States which had not yet adjusted their legislation were referred to the European Court of Justice (ECJ), which is pictured above; two have been already convicted by the ECJ for their failure to transpose the Directive within the period prescribed: Ireland on 19 May 2009; Sweden on 11 June 2009 (Sweden has in the meanwhile fully implemented the Directive).

I would suggest that all those firms and individuals who conduct business with the relevant laggards familiarise themselves with the current state of play in these countries and adjust their risk matrices accordingly.