American banks will halt relations with T&T’s banking sector and that sector and the local economy will crash if the tax information sharing agreement legislation is not passed soon, Finance Minister Colm Imbert has warned.
“Put country first today. This isn’t a time for politicising,” Imbert appealed to the Opposition during yesterday’s Parliament session when he piloted the legislation.
He made an impassioned plea for Opposition support, necessary to pass the bill, to the point of saying he was prepared to suspend the sitting and immediately hold talks with the Opposition to get its support before the September 30 deadline.
The bill requires a three-fifths vote for passage since sections affect constitutional rights. Government needs 26 votes for passage but only has 23 on its side.
It will allow T&T’s Board of Inland Revenue (BIR) to share information with the US’ Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If the IRS seeks information on US citizens doing business in T&T or regarding a bank account, the BIR currently has discretion to refuse to give it. The new legislation will facilitate the BIR’s sharing the information.
Imbert said T&T was now on a grey list since it did not have systems for sharing information in place and stood to be blacklisted resulting in the suspension of relations of US banks with T&T. He said that would cause the banking sector to crash and the economy to be similarly affected.
“All banks would lose the corresponding relations they have in the US if this legislation isn’t passed. We have to co-operate or T&T’s banking systems will crash and the economy will crash,” he added.