<p>On March 2, the Inland Revenue Department announced about the entry into force of Tax Information Exchange Agreements with six Nordic countries - Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Greenland.</p><p>All these agreements were signed already. The treaty with Sweden entered into force on 16 January, with Greenland on 17 February. The remaining agreements entered into force on December 4, 2015.</p><p>According to representatives of the Nordic Council of Ministers, the achievement of such agreements often takes many years, and they are very pleased that it was possible to agree on the tax information automatic transfer with Hong Kong. These six agreements provide for extremely balanced precautions to protect the information and personal data of taxpayers who are exchanging countries.</p><p>Regarding Sweden, according to the Taxation Department estimates, from 300 to 400 billion Crowns, Swiss are hiding from taxation in other countries, and such agreements will allow the return of several billion crowns to Sweden.</p><p>Taxes to which these agreements apply are as follows:</p><ul><li>From the <em>Hong Kong</em> Special Administrative Region:</li></ul><p>— income tax;</p><p>— tax on wages;</p><p>— property tax.</p><ul><li>On the part of the <em>Nordic countries</em>:</li></ul><p>— income tax, income tax and payroll tax;</p><p>— tax on dividends, royalties and capital gains;</p><p>— tax on the net value of the property;</p><p>— in some cases, other taxes, with the exception of customs duties, namely taxes on movable and immovable property, taxes on consumption, goods, services and taxes on inheritance or gift transactions.</p><p>When making inquiries, for example, from Sweden to Hong Kong, the competent authority in Sweden will need to provide the competent authority in Hong Kong with the following:</p><ol></ol><ol><li>Data on the taxpayer;</li><li>Tax period for which information is requested;</li><li>The purpose for which information is requested;</li><li>Preferred form in which to provide information.</li></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><ol></ol><p>If the competent authority that received an adequate request from another country fails to process it within 90 days, and if it encounters any obstacles in providing information, it must immediately notify the applicant party about it and explain the reason for the inability the nature of the obstacle and the reason for refusing to process the request.</p><p>Also, the parties are not obliged to provide information to each other, which would disclose any trade, business, industrial, commercial, professional secret or trade process. All information received by the competent authorities is strictly confidential and can be opened only to authorized persons and bodies and only within the framework of the trial. Other individuals or legal entities and bodies should not open this information without the written consent of the party providing the information. Honest persons should not be afraid of anything, since the information will be used solely to combat tax evasion.</p><p style="text-align: center;">The entry into force of these six tax agreements demonstrates Hong Kong's responsible performance of its international obligations regarding tax transparency.</p><p> </p><p style="text-align: center;"><i>If you have any questions, <strong>Castle Family Office</strong> specialists are ready to answer them! Write to us at:</i><em> <strong><em><span face="Calibri" size="3"><span lang="EN-US"><span face="Calibri" size="3"><a href="mailto:info@castle-familyoffice.sg">info@castle-familyoffice.sg</a></span></span></span></em></strong> </em></p><p>- Income tax;<br />- tax on wages;<br />- property tax.</p>