Nevis Double Tax Treaties

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- Nevis Double Tax Treaties
- Nevis Other International Agreements
- Anti-Money Laundering
- The Inter-American Convention against Corruption

Nevis Double Tax Treaties

The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis is party to double taxation treaties with Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States of America (limited to social security benefits).

The St Christopher and Nevis (Mutual Exchange of Information on Taxation Matters) Act, 2009 received the Governor General’s assent on April 1, 2009 and provides for the mutual exchange of information on taxation matters between St. Kitts and Nevis and other jurisdictions.

The bill marked another step in the Federation’s efforts to comply with OECD standards following its pledge on December 31, 2005 to adhere to the OECD principles of transparency and tax information exchange.

The jurisdiction started the ball rolling by announcing in April 2009 that it would soon begin bilateral talks for the exchange of information in the area of financial services with the Netherlands.

In October 2010, St. Kitts and Nevis signed its 18th Tax Information Exchange Agreement, with Germany. Other jurisdictions with which St. Kitts and Nevis has signed a TIEA include (with signature dates):

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Nevis Other International Agreements

In mid-1998, St. Kitts and Nevis signed a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty with the United States. As is usual for Mutual Legal Assistance Agreements under the Caribbean Basin Initiative, the treaty covers exchange of information for money laundering, drug abuse, criminal activity or fraud but specifically does not extend to any taxation matters.

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Anti-Money Laundering

In response to international pressure, including the campaigns of the OECD and the FATF, St. Kitts and Nevis has also introduced a number of measures to upgrade its anti-money laundering legislation: The Anti-Money Laundering (Amendment) Regulations SR&O 36 of 2001 amend section 4 of the existing Anti Money Laundering Regulations. The original section 4 provided blanket exemptions for the “Know Your Customer” requirements to persons operating in FATF or CFATF member countries that were listed in the Guidance Notes. However, the new section 4 tightens up this provision considerably.

The Nevis Business Corporation (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001 (No. 3 of 2001) seeks to immobilize bearer shares in Nevis and provide for bearer shares to be kept in the custody of a registered agent on the island of Nevis.

The Companies (Amendment) Act, 2001 (No. 14 of 2001) immobilizes bearer certificates issued by Companies under the Companies Act of St. Kitts, 1996.

The Nevis Offshore Banking (Amendment) Ordinance, 2001 provides for beneficial owners or shareholders of companies involved in offshore banking in Nevis being properly identified. It also makes provision for only “fit and proper” persons having any interest greater than 5% in any Offshore Banking entities in Nevis.

Other recent legislation includes the Money Laundering (Prevention) Act 2000, the Financial Services Intelligence Unit Act 2000, and the Financial Services Commission Act 2000. The latter piece of legislation established the Financial Services Commission as the main regulatory body for the offshore sector in both St. Kitts and Nevis.

In 2008, the government announced further steps would be taken to strengthen the jurisdiction's anti-money laundering regime, and in June, the National Assembly began to consider a number of new bills in this area, including the Payment Systems Bill, the Bills of Exchange (Amendment) Bill, the Financial Services Commission (Amendment) Bill and the Financial Intelligence Unit (Amendment) Bill. Minister of National Security, Dwyer Astaphan introduced the Anti-Terrorism (Amendment) Bill at the same sitting of the National Assembly.

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The Inter-American Convention against Corruption

In August, 2004, St. Kitts and Nevis ratified the Inter-American Convention against Corruption to become the 32nd member country of the Organization of American States (OAS) to join this treaty. Ambassador Izben C. Williams, Permanent Representative of St. Kitts and Nevis to the OAS presented the instruments of ratification to Assistant Secretary General Luigi Einaudi, in a brief ceremony at OAS headquarters. The Inter-American Convention against Corruption was adopted in Caracas, Venezuela, in March 1996 and entered into force a year later.

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