Overseas - Dods Monitoring

City of London and the UK.
It is important to re-emphasise some of the
key facts about the BVI. Over the past two
decades, the jurisdiction has implemented
the highest standards of transparency,
accountability and information exchange,
as set out by the OECD, the IMF and other
supranational and regulatory bodies. The
extent and scope of this regulation exceeds
that found in most other jurisdictions –
including countries in the G8 – a fact that is
often overlooked.
Additional steps taken to ensure the BVI
is at the forefront of international standards
include being a committed participant to the
EU G-5 automatic multilateral information
exchange pilot; a commitment to enter into
the Inter-Governmental Agreement with
the UK to support automatic information
sharing in tax matters; and a commitment
to a US FATCA [Fair and Accurate
Credit Transactions Act] Model I Inter-
Governmental Agreement. The BVI has
already stated it will in principle commit
to joining the Multilateral Convention
on Mutual Assistance on Tax Matters.
As automatic exchange of information is
introduced worldwide, we look forward
to working with the relevant authorities
throughout the scheduled implementation
timeframe and beyond.
We take enormous pride in the fact that
in September this year, in the wake of the
G20 meeting in Russia, UK Prime Minister
David Cameron stated in Parliament that,
given the significant efforts the British
Overseas Territories (OTs) (including the
BVI) have taken with regards to regulation
and compliance with international bestpractice,
it was no longer fair to label them as
‘tax havens’. In his declaration, Mr Cameron
acknowledged that the OTs operate “fair and
British Virgin Islands
Capital: Road Town (Tortola)
GDP: $500 million (2010 est.)
Size: 153 sq km
Population: 31,912 (July 2013 est.)
Currency (UKOTA NEWS, April 2013): United
Sates Dollar (US$)
Time Zone(UKOTA NEWS, April 2013):
Greenwich Mean Time -5 Hours
open tax systems” and went on to emphasise
the importance they had to the UK and, more
widely, the global economy.
The BVI is a successful, transparent and very
well regulated business hub playing a vital role
in world trade. We are a major source of foreign
direct investment into Asia. This business flow
continues to grow, not just to Asia but other
regions, due largely to the BVI’s Englishspeaking,
English Common Law business
environment and the fact that many of the
world’s leading professional services firms have
a substantial base in the jurisdiction.
While there remains further work to be
done in communicating the BVI’s strengths,
and particularly its willingness to fully engage
with regulators in the fight against financial
crime, we believe the economic success of the
BVI as a leading global financial jurisdiction
should be applauded and encouraged. We
remain committed to continuing to play
a leading role in delivering a responsible,
transparent and effectively regulated global
business environment. We are proud of
our part in the global economy and we will
continue to be a positive global force for
financial transparency.
Dr, the Honourable D. Orlando Smith, OBE
is the Premier and Minister of Finance of the
British Virgin Islands
November 2013 | THE HOUSE MAGAZINE | 41