A useful summary of recently negotiated conventions, and proposals for new, renegotiated or updated DTCs was published to the HMRC website this week. New DTCs are in train with Australia, Austria, Belgium, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, Croatia, Ethiopia, Germany, Hungary, Israel, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Oman, Qatar, Spain, Switzerland and Thailand.

An increasingly important aspect of international dealings is the establishment of Tax Information Exchange (TIE) agreements. Normally, under a DTC, there are arrangements in place for the exchange of information between Revenue authorities to counter or investigate tax evasion. Where a DTC is not in place, or not considered necessary for whatever reason, TIEs are negotiated. These are often between OECD member countries and countries or territories which, rightly or wrongly, might have been regarded as tax havens in the past.

Building on a recent TIE with the Isle of Man, plans are in place to negotiate TIEs with Anguilla, Gibraltar and the Turks & Caicos Islands.