The Cook Islands delegation for the next round of international talks on the OECD's 'harmful tax competition' initiative will be boosted by the input of other Pacific Islands Forum countries, as well as the Forum Secretariat, the Prime Minister Dr. Terepai Maoate has confirmed.

The Cook Islands plans to take its brief from the concerns of the Forum and was to uphold these concerns at the negotiations, which were scheduled to take place in London from 25-28 January, he said.

Already, a representative from Samoa and the Forum Secretariat have joined the Cook Islands delegation, which has one of two places set aside for the Pacific Region on the 13-member Task Force Working Group. Vanuatu is the other Pacific member on the Task Force.

The assignment of the present Task Force is two-fold. Firstly, to discuss a new process in which international taxation issues may be tackled in terms of principles of transparency, non-discrimination, and effective information exchange. If that is successful, the OECD approach that has already placed pressure on the Cook Islands and other offshore finance jurisdictions to make commitments and comply with a Memorandum of Understanding, will be scrapped. Secondly, the Task Force is to look at how international taxation standards may be elevated into a global context by way of an agreed forum on such issues.

The Prime Minister said he was committed to meeting the concerns of the offshore industry because of its significance to the national economy. The strength and the importance of Offshore Financial Services in other countries in the Region meant that the Cook Islands also had to take into consideration the broad implications of international taxation issues and their impact upon the Pacific as a whole.

Dr. Maoate said it was particularly important to maintain the Region's interests in the Task Force since the London talks would impact upon further discussions scheduled to be held in Japan, next month. Those talks will take place in Tokyo around mid-February, organised by Japan and the OECD for the Pacific Islands Forum members.

The London Task Force is comprised of 6 OECD countries and 7 members made up of countries from the Commonwealth, Pacific, Caribbean, and British Overseas Territories. It was put together in Barbados earlier this month at the High Level Consultations on the OECD Harmful Tax Competition Initiative. Only three Pacific Islands countries attended the meeting in Barbados, as well as the Forum Secretariat - the Cook Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga. However, there has been broad input from other Forum countries since then, as well as comments from the local industry.

Offshore Financial Services Commissioner Mathilda Uhrle left for London last week, to lead the delegation.