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THE CAYMAN Islands government this month set up a task force to oversee the enactment of a United States measure to catch tax dodgers called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

Comparatively, the Jamaican Government remains silent on its response while local stakeholders prepare to comply with the measure set for implementation in January 2013.

"Following recent discussion in Washington, DC, with US Treasury officials, the Ministry of Finance announces the formation of a new task force to evaluate the suitability of a government-to-government reporting arrangement for the implementation of the US FATCA in the Cayman Islands," said an official release by the Cayman government about the task force set to commence activities "immediately".

"As far as I know, there is no response by the Government of Jamaica as yet," said a source which opted for anonymity. "It is early days and institutions around the world are waiting to see before making official responses," the source added.

capture and tax

FATCA aims to capture and tax, if necessary, income earned outside the US for its citizens, green card holders and institutions. However, regular Jamaicans without a US green card are subject to the measure provided they travel to the US for about two months each year and earn over US$50,000 annually.

The Gleaner up to print was unable to get a response from the Ministry of Finance, Bank of Jamaica and Financial Services Commission on the matter. Additionally, the phones of Minister with Responsibility for Information Sandrea Falconer went to voicemail. Up to print, FATCA experts were also unavailable, including Sandra Wright of auditing firm Deloitte and Allison Peart, managing partner at auditing firm Ernst & Young.

Last month, general manager of Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS), Earl Jarrett, said at the Gleaner Editors' Forum that he was not aware of any public dialogue on FATCA by the Jamaican administration.

"What this is telling us is that we can't just mind our own business at Gordon House. We have to have a watching brief on what is happening at 10 Downing Street or even Washington, or increasingly Beijing (China), so we have to embrace this global space," Jarrett had said.

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Cayman FACTA task force established