In an ongoing effort to strengthen its commitment to internationally agreed upon tax standards, Bermuda is currently negotiating a tax information exchange agreement (“TIEA”) with the Czech Republic.

In a local press release, Bermudian Premier Paula Cox announced that the treaty negotiating teams had finalized the text of the TIEA, which is based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) model. Cox noted that “negotiating these TIEAs honours the commitment that both countries have made to uphold the internationally agreed tax standard advanced by the G20 and the OECD and as such, it also serves to safeguard Bermuda’s reputation as a respected international financial centre and underpins our continued attraction as a domicile to international business which is so key to our economy to the benefit of all Bermudians.”

Under the TIEA, Bermuda and the Czech Republic will agree to exchange information on criminal and civil tax matters. Bermuda signed a TIEA with China last year (see blog post here). Such an agreement with the Czech Republic would be the twenty-fourth TIEA signed by the island.