Hong Kong, US sign tax information agreement

Hong Kong and the United States Tuesday signed an agreement on exchange of tax information. Hong Kong's Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury,K C Chan, on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region( HKSAR) government, signed the agreement with the U.S. consul general to Hong Kong and Macao, Clifford A Hart on behalf of U.S. government. It is the first tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) signed by Hong Kong, after the legal framework for entering into TIEAs with other jurisdictions was put in place in July last year. Chan said the signing of the TIEA with the U.S. demonstrates Hong Kong's continued commitment to fulfill its international obligations on promoting tax transparency. Chan added, "The TIEA with the U.S. has adopted highly prudent safeguard measures to protect taxpayers' privacy and confidentiality of information exchanged." The TIEA will become effective after Hong Kong has completed the necessary legislative procedures for bringing the agreement into force.