A trio of British tax havens have announced they are negotiating a partnership agreement with the US government on FATCA - the incoming regime to prevent tax evasion.

Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man jointly trumpeted their intention to negotiate their own individual agreements following the model intergovernmental agreement published by the US government in July. It will be similar to the agreement signed by the UK and the USA on 12 September 2012.

Fiona Le Poidevin, chief executive of Guernsey Finance - the promotional agency for the Island's finance industry internationally, said: 'We welcome today's announcement that the Guernsey government will be looking to negotiate its own partnership agreement with the US to implement FATCA and that this will be along the lines of the 'Model I' type agreement that the UK has signed with the USA.

'The financial services industry in Guernsey has been busy getting up to speed with FATCA. This announcement will be very well received by industry because it provides certainty for the future. That said, there is still much work to be done by those firms in preparation for FATCA and we will also have to wait to see the final form of the agreement which is reached between Guernsey and the US.

'Overall though this is a very positive step. It is also encouraging to see that the three Crown Dependencies are taking a common approach, which will also be welcomed by much of the industry and especially those who have offices in two or more of the islands.'

FATCA - the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act - is aimed at forcing US citizens living overseas to declare their assets in accounts with foreign financial institutions (FFIs). The data will be collected by the IRS and will kick-in in mid-2013 with the aim of dramatically upping the tax from US nationals.

FFIs, will in turn, have to sign compliance agreements with the US Treasury by the end of June next year to report on their US clients, or be saddled with a withholding penalty.

Guernsey said discussions between the US and the three Crown Dependencies had already taken place with the intention of concluding intergovernmental agreements rapidly.

Once signed, they will have to be ratified by each island parliament and implementation of the agreements will be through their respective domestic procedures.