This is an HTML version of an attachment to the Freedom of Information request 'Savings Tax Directive Documents'.


Ref. Ares(2017)4867515 - 05/10/2017
ROOM DOCUMENT # 1  
Working Party on Tax Questions - Direct Taxation 
Savings bilateral agreements with dependent 
and associated territories of UK and NL 
31 March 2015 
ORIGIN: Presidency 
 
 
Automatic Exchange of Information – Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man 
and the Dependent & Associated Territories of NL & UK in the 
Caribbean 

Since 1 July 2005, Jersey, Guernsey, the Isle of Man and the dependent and 
associated territories of NL and the 
 in the Caribbean have either reported 
information to each EU Member or applied a withholding tax to savings 
income of EU residents, based on the principles and machinery of the Savings 
Directive. The network of agreements follows a common model, negotiated at 
EU level, although signed, concluded and applied bilaterally by each Member 
State. 
Four of these territories (Aruba, Anguilla, the Cayman Islands and 
Montserrat) provided automatic exchange of information from the outset. 
 
 
 
.  
To be noted that the agreements between Croatia and some of the dependent 
territories are still not finalised. 
The dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010 into five components 
resulted in the creation of three special municipalities (Bonaire, Sint Eustatius 
and Saba), which are part of the Netherlands, although remaining outside the 
territory to which the EU Treaty and the EU Directives on taxation apply. 
These three municipalities exchange information automatically on interest 
payments under the Savings Agreements originally signed by the Netherlands 
Antilles with each Member State. Only the two former components of the 
Netherland Antilles which have become new constituent territories, while still 
being part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (Curaçao and Sint Maarten), 
continue to levy a withholding tax. 

The island of Saint-Barthélemy ceased to be an outermost region of the EU 
from 1 January  2012. It gained the status of overseas territory. At the time, 
France undertook to conclude the agreements necessary to ensure that the 
EU's interests were preserved when the change took place. The EU and 
France signed and concluded an agreement on the application of savings tax 
legislation to the collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy in 2014. 
Recent international developments have resulted in all but two of these 
jurisdictions committing to being 'early adopters' of the Global Standard. 
Aruba and Sint Maarten have committed to first exchanges under the Global 
Standard by September 2018.  
Apart from Sint Maarten and, at least formally, from the three municipalities 
of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, all the above jurisdictions are included 
among the signatories of the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement of 
October 2014. 
Bearing in mind that exchanges under the Global Standard will be dependent 
on arrangements being put in place by each participating jurisdiction, in 
relation to each other participating jurisdiction, the Presidency puts the 
following questions to Member States:- 
 
1. Do MSs see a need to revise some or all of the existing Savings 
Agreements with the Dependent and Associated territories, in the light of 
international developments on automatic exchange of financial account 
information? 
2. If yes, should such revision follow the same bilateral approach as the 
existing agreements or should the Commission be mandated to negotiate on 
behalf of MSs? 
 
 
 
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