International Tax Authority Act (Revised 2020)

Summary

This Act establishes the International Tax Authority (the Authority) as a body corporate in the Virgin Islands, with a governing Board, to oversee compliance with cross border tax information exchange obligations and mutual legal assistance legislation. It sets out the Authority's functions, governance, funding, confidentiality regime and staffing, and transfers pre-existing statutory tax cooperation functions (previously held by the Financial Secretary) to the new Authority.

• Establishment and governance: Creates the Authority and its Board (comprising the Director of International Business Regulations as Chairperson, the Attorney General, the Managing Director of the FSC, the Director of the Financial Investigation Agency, and the Authority's Director), and appoints a Director to run day to day operations.
• Functions: The Authority monitors the Virgin Islands' compliance with international tax cooperation obligations, administers and monitors compliance of persons, entities and legal arrangements with mutual legal assistance legislation, issues guidelines and advisories, and liaises with foreign competent authorities.
• Confidentiality: Anyone connected with the Authority who obtains information must not disclose it except as permitted by law; breach is an offence. Board members, the Director and staff must take an Oath of Confidentiality before assuming office.
• Immunity and no-liability protections: Officers of the Authority are immune from suit for good-faith acts, and persons who in good faith transmit information or reports to the Authority are protected from civil, criminal or professional-sanction liability, including breach of confidentiality claims.
• Financial and reporting duties: The Director must prepare an annual report for the Board; the Board must prepare annual budget estimates; the Authority must keep proper accounts audited by the Auditor General; and the Minister must lay reports and audited accounts before the House of Assembly within specified periods.
• Fees and funding: The Authority may charge fees for costs incurred performing its duties, and its funds comprise fees, penalties, appropriations, grants and other income; it is exempt from taxes, duties and licence fees on its income, operations and property.

The Act mainly governs the internal operation and powers of the International Tax Authority itself, rather than imposing direct compliance duties on private financial services businesses (those duties arise under the separately listed mutual legal assistance legislation in Schedule 1). Public officers, and members of the Financial Services Commission and Financial Investigation Agency, may be seconded to the Authority.

Key obligations

• Any person connected with the Authority must not disclose information obtained through that connection except as permitted or required by law, on pain of a fine of up to ten thousand dollars or imprisonment up to one year, or both
• Board members, the Director and staff of the Authority must subscribe to the Oath of Confidentiality before assuming office
• The Director must prepare and submit an annual report of the Authority to the Board on or before 30 June each year
• The Chairperson must forward each annual report to the Minister, who must lay it before the House of Assembly before the end of the year following the year to which it relates
• The Board must submit annual budget estimates to the Minister for approval not later than three months before the start of each financial year
• The Authority must keep proper accounts, have them audited by the Auditor General (or a designated auditor) each financial year, and submit the audited accounts and any auditor's report to the Minister
• The Minister must lay the Authority's audited accounts before the House of Assembly before 31 December of the year following the relevant financial year

Applies to

International Tax Authority (statutory body), Board of the Authority, Director and staff of the Authority, public officers seconded to the Authority, members and staff of the Financial Services Commission, members and staff of the Financial Investigation Agency, persons, entities and legal arrangements subject to mutual legal assistance legislation

Deadlines

• on or before 30 June each year: Director must submit the Authority's annual report to the Board
• before the end of the year immediately following the year to which the report relates: Minister must lay the annual report before the House of Assembly
• not later than three months before the commencement of each financial year: Board must submit annual budget estimates to the Minister for approval
• before 31 December of the following year: Minister must lay the Authority's audited accounts before the House of Assembly
• 1 January to 31 December: Financial year of the Authority