Cayman Islands & Australia Sign Tax Information Exchange Agreement

HedgeCo Blogs - The Cayman Islands signed its fifteenth tax information exchange agreement with Australia on Tuesday, during a ceremony held at the Australian embassy in Washington, D.C.

“The Cayman Islands Government is pleased to have signed this agreement with our Australian counterparts and we look forward to many years of cooperation between our two countries as part of our global commitment to upholding international standards of tax transparency and accountability,” said the Premier, the Honourable W. McKeeva Bush.

The Premier was accompanied at the signing by three members of the Cayman Islands TIEA negotiating team: The Honourable Samuel Bulgin, Attorney General, Mr George McCarthy, Chairman of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, and; Mrs Michelle Bahadur, Director of the Financial Services Secretariat, Ministry of Finance.

“We believe this agreement will reinforce an already solid relationship that exists between Australia and the Cayman Islands, as Cayman’s excellent professional infrastructure, effective legal and regulatory framework and stable business environment are well-known amongst Australian private equity and hedge fund firms.” the Premier, said.

The Cayman Islands is successfully concluding negotiations with several OECD and G-20 countries and the Government anticipates signing a number of additional agreements over the coming months.

GreenTech and the Obama Budget

New York (HedgeCo.net) – GreenWorld Capital reports: “President Obama has put his weight behind a new budget that sends a clear message: despite Congressional gridlock, the administration will push forward on cleantech. The budget reflects Obama’s promise to triple US cleantech investment over the next four years as well as his G20 pledge to phase out fossil fuel subsidies. Cleantech has become a centerpiece of the Obama budget and the administration has made it clear that it will use the president’s veto power to get this budget passed. “

Following is a summary by agency:

• Department of Energy: $3-5 billion in loan guarantees for energy efficiency and renewable energy, $4.7 billion in cleantech investment and $144 million for smart-grid research;
  

• Department of the Interior: $73 million for fast-tracking permits for renewable energy projects on federal lands, with a goal of offering permits for at least 9,000 megawatts of new solar, wind, and geothermal electricity by the end of 2011, plus $85 million to foster 14,000 new green jobs;
  

• Department of Transportation: $530 million for sustainable transportation; and

• Environmental Protection Agency: $21 million to implement the Mandatory Greenhouse Gas Reporting Rule and $56 million to address climate change through regulatory initiatives.

The biggest winners over last year’s budget are solar, GreenWorld Capital says, wind and geothermal, which will see annual increases in the range of 25%-50%. The big loser will be petroleum. The budget eliminates $36.5 billion in tax breaks to the oil and natural gas industry and cuts $2.3 billion for the coal sector between 2011 and 2020. In 2008, the Senate curtailed Obama’s attempts to cut petroleum subsidies. However, this year’s emphasis on fiscal responsibility gives Obama cover to fight the petroleum lobby. The other rallying point is US economic recovery. Obama has argued that cleantech investment will fuel US economic growth, a message underscored in his 2010 State of the Union Address.

Meridian Hedge Funds Lose Case Against Madoff 's "Feeder Fund" Auditor

HedgeCo News - The U.S. District Court in Manhattan has ruled that KPMG LLP cannot be sued for its ties with a hedge fund which was found to be a "feeder fund" for Madoff.

The accounting firm won dismissal yesterday, "Because it lacked actual intent to deceive, manipulate, or defraud the investors in the funds that brought the suit." Judge Thomas Griesa said, according to a Reuters report.

KPMG audited hedge fund manager Tremont Partners, which Meridian Horizon Fund and other affiliated hedge funds claim received fees for investing enormous amounts of money with Madoff, Reuters said.

The Meridian hedge funds claim that the auditors should have noticed something wrong, as Tremont lost more than $3 billion investing in the ponzi scheme. However, the Judge ruled, that, "Merely alleging that the auditor had access to the information by which it could have discovered the fraud is not sufficient."