Legislation & Reporting
Tax Acts and Regulations
International Tax Agreements
Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI)
In accordance with its commitment to AEOI under the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the Cook Islands has passed legislation to provide for the implementation of arrangements to exchange tax information; and passed regulations which include offences and impose a penalty regime in the event of a breach by any financial institution.
The Cook Islands passed the Income Tax (Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information and Other Matters) Amendment Act 2016 and which came into force on 26 September 2016 which introduced the CRS into our domestic legislation. Further provisions regarding the CRS are incorporated in the Income Tax Amendment Act 2017.
In 2017 the Income Tax (Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information) Regulations 2017 came into force. The regulations provide a comprehensive overview of rules governing reporting under the CRS, and also provide consistency with section 96C (2) of the Income Tax Amendment Act 2017.
Further information on the CRS can be obtained from the OECD Global Forum AEOI portal at: http://www.oecd.org/tax/automatic-exchange
RMD provides a Common Reporting Standard CRS portal to enable Financial Institutions to register and submit their CRS reports with RMD under the OECD AEOI Global Forum program. CRS reports contain financial information that is required to be exchanged with tax authorities outside the Cook Islands within the OECD AEOI Global forum program. Please click on the following link to file a CRS report with the Cook Islands tax authority: https://crs.cookislands.gov.ck.
Tax Information Exchange Agreements
List of Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) signed by the Cook Islands as at September 2015:
Global Forum
The Cook Islands is a member of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. Please click here to review our Global Forum webpage.
Phase 1 Peer Review Report - Executive Summary
Phase 2 Peer Review Report - Executive Summary
Competent Authority
Xavier Mitchell
PO Box 120
Rarotonga
COOK ISLANDS
Phone: + (682) 29365
International Tax Agreements
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Allocation of Taxing Rights with Respect to Certain Income of Individuals and to Establish a Mutual Agreement Procedure in Respect of Transfer Pricing Adjustments with New Zealand
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Allocation of Taxing Rights with Respect to Certain Income of Individuals and to Establish a Mutual Agreement Procedure in Respect of Transfer Pricing Adjustments with Australia