Chamber slams Opposition over FATCA

In a statement, the Chamber said the Opposition’s decision to stay away from debate on the Tax Information Exchange Agreement Bill 2016 in the House on Monday, compounded its walkout on the same debate in the House last Friday.

The Opposition also walked out on the FATCA debate in the House on September 23. As a result of Monday’s events in Parliament, the Chamber called on the Government and the Opposition “to now act with urgency to bring about a speedy resolution to the passage of FATCA, lest we all suffer the severe, costly and far-reaching implications of non-compliance.” In expressing its dissatisfaction, the Chamber rejected what it described as “political posturing on the part of our leaders, judging from the failure to pass the required legislation.” The Chamber said it was afraid the scenario which prevailed prior to Finance Minister Colm Imbert successfully obtaining a FATCA extension from the United States Treasury would return. “As it stands the most recent attempts to debate the Bill were again scuttled, this time owing to a series of curious actions taken by the Opposition,” the Chamber said.