New US legislation under scrutiny at local summit

The “Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment” Act of 2010 (HIRE Act) described as the latest effort by the US Government to restrict the use of offshore structures will be under the spotlight at the Cayman Finance Summit next month. Steven Cantor, managing partner at Cantor & Webb Attorneys at Law will be providing insight into this piece of US legislation and the affect it may have on the Cayman Islands the organisers said. Contained within the HIRE Act are a series of tax provisions designed to combat noncompliance of tax laws and end several perceived abuses related to foreign accounts and entities owned by United States residents.

The new law affects not only US residents with interests in offshore accounts, trusts or other entities but also the foreign financial institutions at which such accounts or entities are maintained. Cantor promises to examine the issues of increased withholding and disclosure obligations; provisions related to foreign trusts; increased penalties and extended statue of limitations; other disclosure provisions and the increased need for an audit of US involved trust inventory

The HIRE Act is the result of the bill put forward by Senators Bacchus and Grassley and was one that Cayman Finance was highly involved in lobbying for as an alternative to what they said was “Senator Levin’s protectionist and potentially damaging” bill.

“Tickets for the first annual Cayman Finance summit are selling fast with a wide spectrum of the community showing interest in hearing from the high calibre speakers who will be coming to Cayman to discuss their views on economic principles,” organisers stated in a release this week.