Taxation (Implementation) (International Tax Compliance) (Common Reporting Standard) (Jersey) Regulations 201-: Law drafting instructions

Information about the publication of Ministerial Decisions

A formal published “Ministerial Decision” is required as a record of the decision of a Minister (or an Assistant Minister where they have delegated authority) as they exercise their responsibilities and powers.

Ministers are elected by the States Assembly and have legal responsibilities and powers as “corporation sole” under the States of Jersey Law 2005 by virtue of their office and in their areas of responsibility, including entering into agreements, and under any legislation conferring on them powers.

An accurate record of “Ministerial Decisions” is vital to effective governance, including:

demonstrating that good governance, and clear lines of accountability and authority, are in place around decisions-making – including the reasons and basis on which a decision is made, and the action required to implement a decision
providing a record of decisions and actions that will be available for examination by States Members, and Panels and Committees of the States Assembly; the public, organisations, and the media; and as a historical record and point of reference for the conduct of public affairs

Ministers are individually accountable to the States Assembly, including for the actions of the departments and agencies which discharge their responsibilities.

The Freedom of Information Law (Jersey) Law 2011 is used as a guide when determining what information is be published. While there is a presumption toward publication to support of transparency and accountability, detailed information may not be published if, for example, it would constitute a breach of data protection, or disclosure would prejudice commercial interest.

A decision made 1 April 2015:

Ministerial decision reference MD-C-2015-0043
Decision summary title To prepare the Taxation (Implementation) (International Tax Compliance) (Common Reporting Standard) (Jersey) Regulations 201
Decision summary author	Chief Minister’s Department	Is the decision summary public or exempt?		Public
Report title The implementation of the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information
Report author or name of person giving report	Adviser – International Affairs	Is the report public or exempt?		Public
Decision and reason for the decision The Chief Minister approved proposals for the Law Draftsman to prepare the legislation to implement the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information signed by the Government of Jersey in Berlin on the 29th October 2014 to improve international tax compliance based on the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for the automatic exchange of financial account published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development on 13th February 2014. The Government of Jersey in 2014 joined with over 50 other countries and jurisdictions in committing to the early adoption of the new single global standard for automatic exchange of tax information and in October 2014 signed a Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement which provides the legal mechanism for automatic exchange of information with effect from 1st January 2016. Regulations are required to implement the Agreement following the ratification of the signed Agreement by the States.
Resource implications There are no financial or manpower implications arising from the law drafting instructions.
Action required The Chief Minister requested that the Adviser – International Affairs submit drafting instructions to the Law Draftsman’s Office.
Signature			Position Senator I J Gorst Chief Minister

Date signed			Effective date of the decision

Taxation (Implementation) (International Tax Compliance) (Common Reporting Standard) (Jersey) Regulations 201-: Law drafting instructions

Request to the Law Draftsman to prepare Regulations for the implementation of the Common Reporting Standard on the Automatic Exchange of Tax Information

In June 2014 Jersey became a party to the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters as a result of the extension to the Island of the United Kingdom’s ratification of the Convention.

Article 6 of the Convention provides for the automatic exchange of tax information between parties to the Convention.

In February 2014 the OECD published a new global Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for the automatic exchange of financial account information.

Jersey joined in a statement in March 2014 by 44 countries committing to the early adoption of the Common Reporting Standard. On the 29th October 2014 in Berlin Jersey joined with 51 of the 54 countries in the “early adopters group” in signing a Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) as a first step in the implementation of the Standard.

In accordance with Section 7 of the MCAA, Jersey is committed to put in place the necessary laws to implement the CRS with effect from the 1st January 2016, with first reporting on financial accounts to relevant partner jurisdictions by September 2017.

To meet this timetable the States will need to be asked to ratify the signed MCAA and adopt the required Regulations by mid year to give the finance industry good notice of the obligations.

The Law Draftsman is therefore asked to prepare draft Taxation (Implementation) (International Tax Compliance) (Common Reporting Standard) (Jersey) Regulations 201-. Drafting instructions will be provided by the Adviser – International Affairs.

Adviser – International Affairs

31 March 2015