THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN AND OECD STANDARDS OF TRANSPARANCY AND EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
OECD Secretary-General compliments the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba
In his speech on 21 October 2008, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría, addressed the issue of transparency and exchange of tax information in relation to offshore jurisdictions. The Secretary-General:
“In 2000 we identified over 40 tax havens and between 2000 and 2005 we were able to convince 35 of these tax havens to commit to the OECD standards of transparency and exchange of information. Seven tax havens initially refused to make this political commitment and were placed on a list of uncooperative tax havens. By 2008 this list …
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KEEPING, MAINTAINING AND RETAINING RECORDS FOR TAX PURPOSES IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
Records must be kept for 10 years
Pursuant to article 43 of the Netherlands Antilles State Ordinance on National Taxes (Algemene Landsverordening Landsbelastingen, “GONT”) an entity is obliged to keep the records (‘administratie’) of its assets and liabilities that clearly show the rights and obligations at all times and that provide the data relevant to the levying of taxes. These records and the associated data carriers must be kept for a period of 10 years. The GONT does not define what “records” are. The word records is therefore a grey area.
It is important to know that these obligations are …
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PROVIDING INFORMATION TO THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN TAX INSPECTOR
Digital information is not sufficient
In general every company is obliged to supply the Tax Inspector with data and information that is or can be significant for levying taxes from that company. Regarding the aforementioned all data carriers or their content have to be made available at the request (and discretion) of the Tax Inspector.
Digital versions of the data and information do not represent sufficient compliance with this obligation. If there are only digital documents available (like e-mails), then the taxpayer must ensure that the Tax Inspector is able to read such data during the legal period that the …
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CORPORATE PENSION FUNDS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN
Only legal entities may serve as a fund
According to the Netherlands Antilles National Ordinance on Corporate Pension Funds only legal entities may serve as a corporate pension fund. The foundation (‘stichting’) is the legal form most used for these purposes.
The main reason for using a foundation instead of a legal entity of which the equity is divided in shares is that there are no shareholders interest which could conflict with the interest of the participants in the pension fund.
Furthermore, Netherlands Antilles corporate law includes some specific provisions for foundations that are used as a pension fund. Participants …
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DUTCH CARIBBEAN HEDGE FUNDS
Curacao provides a favorable climate for hedge funds
Curacao, part of the Netherlands Antilles, currently provides a favorable tax, legal and regulatory climate for hedge funds. A fund vehicle can be established quickly and flexibly. Additionally, the current regulatory regime for the supervision of investment institutions and administrators and the anti-money laundering rules provide comfort for investors. In Curacao one can discuss with the tax authorities in advance what at arms’ length remuneration will be acceptable. A tax-exempt vehicle and several very low-tax vehicles are available for hedge funds.
There is no requirement from the point of view of corporate …
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PROTECTING ONES ASSETS IN A TAX FRIENDLY ENVIRONMENT
Dutch Caribbean as the jurisdiction of choice
There are millions of people around the world who can be called wealthy. Many of them want to protect their wealth, against political instability, for example. To do so they can choose among various jurisdictions.
The Netherlands Antilles (a.k.a. the Dutch Caribbean) is a jurisdiction of choice one should definitely consider. There are several reasons why the Netherlands Antilles is already the favorite jurisdiction for so many people. One reason is that it is part of the Dutch Kingdom, which is known for political stability. The fact that the Dutch Supreme Court in …
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BARACK OBAMA: WHAT HAS THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN TO GAIN OR TO LOSE?
What if he becomes the next President of the U.S.?
We have seen the results in Iowa and New Hampshire: Barack Obama gained much attention and got many votes. So there is a (slight) chance that he might be the Democratic candidate in the U.S. Presidential race, although no one should underestimate Hillary Clinton. Obama might even win the race, although no one should underestimate John McCain either.
Theoretically, Barack Obama could be the next President and if so, for argument’s sake, how would that affect the Dutch Caribbean? In 2007, three U.S. Senators proposed a bill against tax havens and tax paradises. This …
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