Address
by the US Ambassador at the signing of the
FATCA
Agreement between Cyprus and the USA
The
Minister of Finance, Mr Harris Georgiades, and the US Ambassador to Cyprus, Mr John M. Koenig, signed today, at the
Ministry of Finance, an Agreement on the improvement of the International Tax
Compliance for the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act
(FATCA) between Cyprus and the USA.
In his address during the signing ceremony, Ambassador
Koenig stated the following:
“I am pleased to be here for the signing
of the agreement implementing the Foreign
Account Tax Compliance Act. Thank you to all those here at the Ministry, here
in Cyprus, Americans and Cypriots, who worked to prepare for this day.
We welcome Cyprus’
commitment to intensify our cooperation to improve international tax
compliance. Cyprus, under the leadership of President Anastasiades, Finance
Minister Georgiades and Central Bank Governor Yiorkadji, have taken important
steps to bolster the island’s reputation and appeal as a financial and business
service centre in the region and around the globe.
Today’s signing marks the significant
step forward in our countries’ common efforts to work collaboratively to combat
off-shore tax evasion, an objective that benefits both our countries.
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) introduces reporting
requirements for foreign financial institutions with respect to certain
accounts held by US taxpayers. Because access to information from other countries
is critically important to the full and fair enforcement of our domestic tax
laws, information exchange is a top priority for the United States. As such, we
have been a leader in the development of new international standards for
greater transparency to a full exchange of tax information and we are very
pleased to cooperate with the Republic of Cyprus in this regard.
By working
together to detect, deter and discourage off-shore tax abusers to increase
transparency and enhance reporting, we can help to build a stronger, more
stable and more accountable global financial system which would be good for all
of us.
We welcome the
Cyprus Fiduciary Association’s FACTA seminars this week to help speed the
implementation. FACTA is yet one further example of the deep, substantial and
growing rings that positively bind the Cypriot and American economies to our
common benefit.”
_____________
2 December,
2014
