Finland - Belize Tax Treaty
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B E L I Z E: STATUTORY INSTRUMENT No. 106 of 2010
ORDER made by the Minister of Finance in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by section 95A of the Income and Business Tax Act, Chapter 55 of Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2000-2003, as amended by the Income and Business Tax (Amendment) Act, 2009 (No. 6 of 2009), and all other powers thereunto him enabling. (Gazetted 4th December, 2010.)
WHEREAS, section 95A(1) of the Income and Business Tax Act, Chapter 55 of the Laws of Belize, Revised Edition 2000-2003, as amended by the Income and Business Tax (Amendment) Act, 2009 (No. 6 of 2009) [hereinafter referred to as “the Act”] provides that the Minister [of Finance] may enter into Tax Information Exchange Agreements with the government of any country or territory outside Belize with a view to applying international standards on transparency and effective exchange of information relating to tax matters; AND WHEREAS, subsection (2) of section 95A of the Act further provides that every such agreement as aforesaid shall be incorporated in an Order which shall be published in the Gazette as a statutory instrument, and upon such publication, the Order shall have the force of law in Belize notwithstanding anything in this or any other enactment, and the restrictions contained in section 4 of this Act on the disclosure of information shall not apply with respect to a request for information pursuant to such agreement;
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AND WHEREAS, the Minister has entered into a Tax Information Exchange Agreement with the Government of the Republic of Finland, NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ordered as follows:Short title.
- This Order may be cited as the TAX INFORMATION EXCHANGE AGREEMENT (BELIZE/FINLAND) ORDER, 2010.
Interpretation.
Schedule.
- In this Order, unless the context otherwise requires — “Agreement” means the Agreement between the Government of Belize and the Government of the Republic of Finland Concerning Information on Tax Matters, signed on the 15th September, 2010, as set out in the Schedule hereto; “authorised representative” of the Minister means the Financial Secretary; “competent authority” means in the case of Belize, the Minister or the Financial Secretary; and in the case of Finland, the Ministry of Finance, its authorised representative or the authority which is designated by the Ministry of Finance as the competent authority; “days’ means calendar days;
CAP. 272.
“IFS Practitioner” means any person or entity licensed by the International Financial Services Commission to carry on the business of ‘international financial services’ as that term is defined in section 2 of the International Financial Services Commission Act;
CAP. 263.
“financial institution” means a bank or financial institution as defined in the Banks and Financial Institution Act or the International
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Banking Act, and includes brokerage firms and insurance companies;
CAP. 267.
“Minister” means the Minister of Finance; “reporting entity” shall have the meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Money Laundering and Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2008;
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“supervisory authority” shall have the meaning assigned to it in section 2 of the Money Laundering and Terrorism (Prevention) Act, 2008;
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- For the purpose of complying with a request for information pursuant to the Agreement, the Financial Secretary shall have power to obtain and provide all such information, including (without limitation):
(a) information held by banks, other financial institutions, and any person acting in any agency or fiduciary capacity including nominees and trustees;
(b) information regarding the ownership of companies, partnerships, trusts and foundations including ownership information on all such persons in an ownership chain; in the case of trusts, information on settlors, trustees, beneficiaries and protectors; and in the case of foundations, information on founders, members of the foundation council and beneficiaries.
- (1) Where the Financial Secretary is satisfied that a request for information from the competent authority of the Republic of Finland falls within the terms of the Agreement, he may under his hand require any bank, financial institution, reporting entity, supervisory authority, IFS Practitioner, Trust Agent, Registered Agent of Foundations, Registrar of
Power of the Financial Secretary to obtain and provide information.
Duty to supplying information to the Financial Secretary.
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(local) Companies, Registrar of International Business Companies, Registrars of domestic and International Trusts, Registrar of Foundations, Registrar of Limited Liability Partnerships, Supervisor of (domestic) Insurance, Supervisor of International Insurance, taxing authority, public statutory corporations, public officers, or any other person, who the Financial Secretary believes may have relevant information, to furnish such information or produce such document as may be required to comply with the request for information.
(2) Every person who is required by the Financial Secretary to provide information or produce documents pursuant to this Order shall provide the requisite information or documents as soon as possible but no later than thirty (30) days from the date of the request for information.
(3) Every person who refuses or fails to supply such information or documents to the Financial Secretary, or wilfully supplies false or misleading information, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding five thousand dollars or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both such fine and term of imprisonment.
(4) No restrictions on the disclosure of information contained in any other law shall apply to a request for information pursuant to the Agreement and no suit for breach of confidentiality or other such action shall lie against any person who discloses information, produces documents or renders other assistance in compliance with a request for information under this Order. Commencement.
- This Order shall come into force on the 15th day of December, 2010.
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MADE by the Minister of Finance this 26th day of November, 2010.
(DEAN O. BARROW) Minister of Finance
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