The agreement was signed on behalf of Guernsey by Gavin St Pier, minister of the treasury and resources department and on behalf of Qatar by Moftah Jassim Al Moftah, director of the public revenues and taxes department at the ministry of economy and finance.
Fiona Le Poidevin, chief executive of Guernsey Finance – the promotional agency for the Island’s finance industry, said: “The DTA between Guernsey and Qatar deepens the relationship and it also offers significant potential for expanding financial services business. It provides clarity and certainty on matters of taxation, which makes it more attractive to conduct business between the two jurisdictions.”
Le Poidevin added that “a number of Middle Eastern” fund managers already have funds domiciled and administered in Guernsey, but that the DTA will make the island an even more attractive proposition.
In particular she cites Guernsey’s position to close to Europe but outside the EU as offering an advantageous position for fund managers in relation to the upcoming Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive.
The DTA with Qatar marks the sixth full DTA signed by Guernsey, the others being with the Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta, Singapore and the UK. It also has 11 partial DTAs and 40 Tax Information Exchange Agreements, 16 of which are with members of the G20.
