Cayman Islands Implementing OECD Common Reporting Standard By October 2015

On 16 June 2015 the Department of International Tax Cooperation (the "DITC") of the Cayman Islands government announced that it was moving forward with the implementation of the OECD Common Reporting Standard ("CRS"), via the introduction of Cayman Islands domestic law, by October 2015. 

The CRS represents a significant step towards the global automatic exchange of information ("AEOI") for tax purposes and there are currently more than 90 countries that have committed to its implementation. 

The United States of America has not yet agreed to adopt the CRS, instead continuing to rely on the extensive reach of FATCA and its related network of intergovernmental agreements to achieve the AEOI on tax matters.