Minister of Finance Bob Richards announced that the Government of Bermuda’s participation in the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters (the Convention) has been officially notified to the Council of Europe and the OECD.

A Ministry of Finance press release this morning stated the announcement took place at the 6th Annual Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes being held in Jakarta, Indonesia this week.

It stated: “Based on the Convention’s internal procedure Bermuda’s participation will enter into force on the first day of the third month after the date the Council of Europe and the OECD were officially notified.”

The Minister is quoted as saying: “The Convention is an avenue for one jurisdiction to exchange information with many jurisdictions simultaneously without the need for bilateral or one-on-one negotiation.”

It explained that practically speaking, the adoption of the Convention by Bermuda means that for developing countries it is the most effective instrument they can use to combat tax fraud which, said the Ministry of Finance: “ ... is vital to their Government revenues.”

Although Bermuda now has a total of 65 exchange of information partners because of the adoption of the Convention, signatories to the Convention will work in tandem with Bermuda’s current treaty network of 40 bilateral TIEAs. Some 36 of the 40 TIEA partners are signatories to the Convention.