CURACAO TAX REFORM 2011
New Opportunities for the International Sector
The Curacao tax reform 2011 was recently adopted by the Curacaoan parliament. The Curacao tax reform 2011 has some interesting features for the international financial sector. The expectations are that more features will follow during the next few years, however, no formal announcements have yet been made in this respect. A switchover from direct to indirect taxation is already evident in the Curacao tax reform 2011, although still on a modest scale. Expectations are that this trend will continue. Personal and corporate income tax rates will decrease, while turnover tax will increase from 5% …
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VOLUNTARY DISCLOSURE AND THE HUNT FOR UNDISCLOSED ACCOUNTS BY US AND DUTCH TAX AUTHORITIES
Propaganda machines up to speed
Publicity efforts by the US and Dutch tax authorities indicate that the hunt for undisclosed accounts in typical offshore jurisdictions is still a hot item. Although Curacao was not mentioned by the US authorities, the Dutch tax authorities announced a new search for undisclosed accounts in Curacao based on information provided by the French tax authorities. The IRS announced a new voluntary disclosure program which mitigates the risk of criminal prosecution in exchange for paying taxes, interest and a standardized penalty. Furthermore, the IRS announced that they will follow ‘new leads’ emanating from voluntary disclosures. …
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REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION BY FOREIGN TAX AUTHORITIES
A request for information needs to contain specific information
The former Netherlands Antilles concluded several tax information exchange agreements (‘TIEA’) during recent years. These TIEAs also apply to the newly formed country Curacao. The Tax Arrangement for the Kingdom (‘TAK‘) is applicable within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which includes Curacao. Article 37 of the TAK also contains the facilities for the exchange of information within the Kingdom.
Without a TIEA in place or a specific article in a double tax treaty facilitating the exchange of information between the treaty parties, the Curacao tax authorities would be prohibited from effectively exchanging …
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