AIMA welcomes the decision of the Council of the European Union to remove the Cayman Islands from the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes.

The full review process carried out by the Council’s Code of Conduct Group (CoCG) since 2018 determined that, by enacting economic substance legislation in line with OECD requirements, the Cayman Islands satisfied the Council’s criteria in line with international tax standards in all respects. However, in extending the concept of economic substance to regulation of collective investment vehicles, the CoCG required further modifications to limited regulatory measures. Although these were in the course of being implemented, the Cayman Islands were included on the EU list on 18 February 2020. The removal of the Cayman Islands from the EU list has been made at the first subsequent opportunity.

AIMA Cayman members, as part of the Cayman financial services industry, worked with the Cayman Islands government to address the requirements of the EU while protecting the interests of the Cayman Islands as a leading investment fund domicile.

The Cayman Islands fully support the work of the EU and the OECD under the BEPS Project and other initiatives to promote tax good governance. They have, for many years, participated actively in the Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information, as well as international and regional task forces addressing corruption, money laundering and terrorist financing. The Cayman Islands were among the first jurisdictions to conclude a FATCA intergovernmental agreement with the US and they operate the OECD Common Reporting Standard. The Cayman Islands maintains a registry of beneficial ownership information which is provided to the governmental agencies of participating jurisdictions on demand.

The Cayman Islands have developed their position as a leading international financial centre by establishing an effective and appropriate regulatory regime, and AIMA supports the policy of the Cayman Islands to work with international bodies to address developing global initiatives.

Ronan Guilfoyle, AIMA Cayman Chairman, commented: “This action by the EU acknowledges that the regimes established by the Cayman Islands for fund regulation and the wider economic substance requirement, as well as those for the exchange of tax and financial information, anti-money laundering and related measures are fully in line with international standards.”

Jack Inglis, AIMA CEO commented: “The Cayman Islands have been at the forefront of tax transparency in the asset management industry and the EU’s decision is a recognition of the jurisdiction meeting the most stringent conditions. This is good news for the alternatives industry, given the importance of the Cayman Islands as a fund and services centre globally.”

ENDS

Notes to editors

For media information:

Laura Morrissey, Hume Brophy, e: [email protected], t: +44 (0)20 7862 6383

Tom Kehoe, Global Head of Research & Communications, AIMA, e: [email protected]  

About AIMA Cayman

AIMA Cayman was established in 2006 and is an active association with a large membership that represents Cayman’s investment fund industry. Supporting the large concentration of offshore funds domiciled in the Cayman Islands is a distinguished group of expert service providers including administrators, attorneys, auditors, bankers and directors which comprise the Cayman national group.

About AIMA

The Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) is the global representative of the alternative investment industry, with more than 2,000 corporate members in over 60 countries. AIMA’s fund manager members collectively manage more than $2 trillion in hedge fund or private credit assets. AIMA draws upon the expertise and diversity of its membership to provide leadership in industry initiatives such as advocacy, policy and regulatory engagement, educational programmes and sound practice guides. AIMA works to raise media and public awareness of the value of the industry. AIMA set up the Alternative Credit Council (ACC) to help firms focused in the private credit and direct lending space. AIMA is committed to developing skills and education standards and is a co-founder of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation (CAIA) – the first and only specialised educational standard for alternative investment specialists. AIMA is governed by its Council (Board of Directors). For further information, please visit AIMA’s website, www.aima.org.