Gibraltar and Spain agree framework on tax issues
19-Oct-2009Gibraltar, Spain and the UK agreed a "detailed framework" for further negotiations on tax matters at a ministerial meeting of the Forum of Dialogue on Gibraltar on 22 July 2009. Held in Gibraltar, it was the first time that a Spanish government minister had set foot on the Rock for more than 300 years.
"Our framework relating to financial services and taxation highlights our desire to establish normal lines and methods of co-operation including tax exchange of information, regulatory contacts, liaison and exchanges between regulatory authorities, taxation and anti-money-laundering issues and policies," said a joint communique from Gibraltar Chief Minister Peter Caruana, Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos Cuyaube and UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband.
The officials also agreed to frameworks for agreements on environmental matters, law enforcement cooperation, education, maritime communication, and visa-related issues for travellers from Gibraltar to Morocco.
"We are committed to reaching agreements in these areas as soon as possible, preferably by the end of this year, and in any event by next year's ministerial round," said the communique. Though Spain maintains its territorial claim over Gibraltar, the parties established the forum to facilitate negotiations while not addressing issues of sovereignty.
Spain and Gibraltar are currently engaged in a dispute over Gibraltar's authority to set its own tax rates. Both Spain and the European Commission contend that Gibraltar's plan to set its own tax rates independent of the UK constitutes impermissible state aid. Gibraltar's 2009 budget calls for a reduction in the corporate tax rate to 10% beginning in January 2011.
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