The International Tax Authority (ITA), is a Unit established under the Ministry of Finance.    As of the 9th July, 2012 the ITA has been designated to perform the functions of the Competent Authority, under section 4(1) of the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, 2003 (MLA). The Competent Authority, under the MLA is the Financial Secretary.  The ITA in performing these functions, as designated by the Financial Secretary, is responsible for dealing with all practical aspect of the Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA).  The ITA has also been charged with the responsibility of negotiating TIEA agreements with potential treaty partners to ensure that the Virgin Islands is fully compliant with the standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.  Further, with the international standard moving towards automatic exchange of information, the ITA is also charged with facilitating the process of all other types of exchange of information, such as automatic exchange of information and spontaneous exchange of information.  The ITA is also charged with the responsibility of continuing to develop the framework within the Virgin Islands for the effective exchange of all types of information.