Imbert corrects record on Global Forum Bill

FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert says in Trinidad and Tobago’s 13 double taxation treaties, some of which go back 50 years, the finance minister is named as the competent authority.

The minister sought to clarify and highlight aspects of his presentation on the Miscellaneous Provisions (Global Forum): Bill, 2024 in a statement on September 15.

Imbert led the debate on the bill in the Parliament on September 13. However, he complained the media omitted comprehensive rebuttals of the Government to statements made by the Opposition.

The statement said Imbert pointed out that “in the 2017 US Tax Information Exchange Agreement, also known as FATCA, even though in the domestic legislation the competent authority was defined as the Board of Inland Revenue based on an unreasonable demand from the Opposition, in the actual FATCA Agreement that was executed with the United States, the competent authority is defined as the Minister of Finance or his designated representative.”

The statement said Imbert made it clear that designating the Minister of Finance or his representative as the competent authority for tax information exchange agreements “is the global standard and established practice in almost every country.”

He also took Opposition Leader Kamla Persad-Bissessar to task for her “weird attempt at conflation” during her contribution linking the bill to the UK’s new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA).

Imbert said, “That assertion from the Opposition Leader is a most egregious lie.”

The statement said Imbert clarified that the ETA was not a visa and “is, in fact, a digital travel permit system and advance passenger information system that allows the UK government greater oversight of its borders for travellers who already have visa waivers such as ours.”

“The ETA is a new system being applied by the UK Government to all countries that do not require a visa to visit the UK, including the USA, Canada and all EU countries, among many others, totalling almost 90 countries, yet the Opposition Leader falsely insinuated that the ETA is a sanction placed on Trinidad and Tobago because of our status with the Global Forum.”

He added, “ The Leader of the Opposition also falsely claimed that the legislation will allow police officers for the first tine to search people’s homes for documents.

“Minister Imbert debunked that falsehood as well and showed that the existing anti-crime laws have allowed police officers to search premises for documents with a warrant approved by a judge for over 15 years,” the statement said.