The tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) between Guernsey and the People’s Republic of China entered into force on August 17, 2011. Incorporating the internationally-agreed Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) standard for the exchange of information upon request, the agreement will give the tax authorities of both countries a greater ability to exchange taxpayer information.

Under the terms of the TIEA, the signatories will be able, on request, to exchange bank and other information relating to tax matters. The agreement was originally signed in October last year during the visit of a Chinese delegation headed by Xiao Jie, the Commissioner of the State Administration of Taxation. Speaking during his visit, Xiao Jie confirmed China’s wish to strengthen its economic and trading relationship with Guernsey.

In recent times, Guernsey’s government has said that the completion of TIEAs underlines Guernsey’s on-going commitment to the international standards of wider transparency and exchange of information in tax matters, and that 26 countries have now signed TIEAs with Guernsey.