Prior to the enactment of the law, Hong Kong could only exchange tax information with jurisdictions with which it had entered into a complete circumvention of the Double Taxation Agreement (“CDTA”). Hong Kong is currently a signatory to 29 CDTAs. The adoption of the law follows a recommendation from the Global Forum on Transparency and Information Exchange on Tax Rules (OECD Global Forum), an intergovernmental body set up to ensure the implementation of internationally agreed standards for tax information exchange and transparency. Jurisdictions can also use the text of the articles in the model protocol if they wish to include the automatic and spontaneous exchange of information in a new TIEA. The aim of this agreement is to promote international cooperation in tax matters through the exchange of information. It was developed by the OECD Global Forum Working Group on Effective Information Exchange. The main difference between the provisions of the IEI between a TIEA and a CDTA is that a TIEA tends to ask more specific questions as part of the practical implementation of information exchange. For example, the HK-US TIEA has provided a list of information that the applicant must provide in its IOA applications and contains provisions to which the contracting party must terminate for the exchange of information. In summary, the HK-US TIEA ITER ITER IMT IN HONG Kong the possibility of providing certain information that could be considered as part of a future HK-US IGA, at the request of the U.S.
tax authorities. In June 2015, the OECD`s Tax Affairs Committee (CFA) approved a standard protocol on the agreement. The standard protocol can be used by jurisdictions if they wish to extend the scope of their existing TIEAs to the automatic and/or spontaneous exchange of information. With the permission of PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd., a unit established in Hong Kong, was reprinted. Copyright 2014 PricewaterhouseCoopers Ltd. All rights reserved. The information contained in this article, compiled on the date indicated in the article and based on the applicable laws at the time and the information available, is only general in nature and readers should engage specifically in their circumstances by their professional advisors. The signing of the HK-US TIEA marks a new era of information exchange in Hong Kong. While the initial effect of TIEA HK refers to the implementation of FATCA in Hong Kong, it should not be lost sight of the fact that TIEA can also allow the exchange of tax information between the two governments. In this regard, legal systems may be based on a bilateral agreement between the competent authority for the implementation of the automatic exchange of information in accordance with the common standard of notification or automatic exchange of reports by country on a TIEA, particularly in cases where it is not (yet) possible to automatically exchange information through the relevant authority within the framework of a relevant multilateral agreement.
A tieA request for information model has been developed to assist the relevant authorities of TIEA partners in requesting information. It is available in English and French as well as in Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean and Turkish. The HK-US TIEA essentially follows the OECD TIEA model, with some modifications. There is no significant difference between the HK-US TIEA and the Global Double Taxation Agreements (CDTAs) that Hong Kong has concluded to date with respect to the scope of information exchange and compliance with data privacy and protection legislation. As pressure for greater tax transparency continues to grow and automatic information exchange (IEC) becomes the last international standard for the IEO, the EoI regime is expected to expand in Hong Kong.
