This feed is published daily with selected new or updated
content from across the Lowtax Network. For a list of Lowtax Network
sites, many of which feature daily news, see
below.
Providing essential tax news and information
for globally mobile artists, contractors, entrepreneurs, professionals,
small businesses, sportspersons and entertainers.
Lowtax Portal:
'Low-tax' business and investment in the top 50 jurisdictions covered in
exceptional detail.
Tax News: Global
tax news, continuously updated through the day.
Investors Offshore:
The independent offshore and alternative investment guide for expatriates
and the globally aware investor.
Law & Tax
News: Daily news and background data on tax and legal developments
for international business.
Offshore-e-com:
A topical guide to offshore e-commerce focused on tax and regulation.
Lowtax Library:
One of the web's largest and most authoritative business and investment
information sources.
US Tax Network:
The resource for free online US taxation information, covering: corporate
tax, individual tax, international tax, expatriates, sales and e-commerce
tax, investment tax.
NEW! Personal
Business Tax Guide: Providing essential tax news and information
on business for contractors, entrepreneurs, professionals, small businesses,
artists, sportspersons and entertainers.
OECD Delivers On G20 Tax Blacklist Pledge,
by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London
Monday, April 06, 2009
The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development has published a list
of jurisdictions it believes have not implemented internationally agreed standards
of tax cooperation, following through on the G-20 nations' pledge to take action
against 'non cooperative' territories in the interests of maintaining stability
in the global financial system.
The list was published on April 2, in tandem with the G20 communique which
sets out the major economies' vision of the future global regulatory and economic
landscape. "We stand ready to deploy sanctions to protect our public finances
and financial systems," reads the communique, presented by British Prime
Minister Gordon Brown, which goes on to declare that: "The era of banking
secrecy is over."
The list is split into three parts: the first list contains jurisdictions
which are deemed to have "substantially implemented" the agreed tax cooperation
standard; the second contains the names of jurisdictions which have committed
to, but have not yet implemented the standard; and the last list names those
jurisdictions which have not committed to the standard and will presumably face
sanctions of some sort unless they fall into line. At the moment, only four
jurisdictions fall into the latter category, namely Costa Rica, Labuan, the
Philippines and Uruguay.
Unsurprisingly, the largest economies of the G20 group, such as the US, the
UK, Germany and France, appear on the OECD's 'white list.' But there are also a number of offshore
and low-tax jurisdictions which appear in this list (including a number which have been demonized by politicians and the mainstream media in the past several months), including Barbados, Cyprus,
Guernsey, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey, Malta, Mauritius, Seychelles, the United
Arab Emirates and the US Virgin Islands.
The vast majority of offshore and low-tax territories (categorized by the OECD
as 'tax havens'), fall into the second tier of compliance. While many of these
jurisdictions have been busily concluding bilateral tax agreements in recent
weeks in a bid to stay on the right side of the latest offshore crackdown, it
would appear that they have more work to do to ensure that they avoid the G20
sanctions threatened by Brown, Obama and other world leaders - although the
communique does not detail what is in store for these jurisdictions should sanctions be applied. Notable inclusions
in the second list are Austria, Belgium, Luxembourg and Switzerland, although,
sub-categorized as 'other financial centres', they have at least escaped the
ignominy of being labeled as tax havens.
Welcoming the outcome of the G20 meeting, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria
said: “Recent developments reinforce the status of the OECD standard as
the international benchmark and represent significant steps towards a level
playing field. We now have an ambitious agenda, that the OECD is well placed
to deliver on. I am confident that we can turn these new commitments into concrete
actions to strengthen the integrity and transparency of the financial system”.
However, others believe that if the playing field is indeed uneven, it is now
tilted towards the large onshore countries, after many years of sustained pressure
on offshore financial centres to improve their regulatory and enforcement systems.
Commenting on the outcome of the G20 meeting and the publication of the OECD
blacklist, David Harvey, Chief Executive of the Society of Trust and Estate
Practitioners said: "STEP has concerns that, historically, regulatory standards
espoused by OECD member states as international standards have not been applied
in those very same states. Where standards of regulation are applied selectively,
or warnings of risk are ignored, the global regulatory system will be inadequate.
Indeed the IMF has made it clear that large economies often lag behind well-regulated
offshore centres."
He added: “STEP urges the G20 to ensure that if regulation is to be effective
it must be extended to the G20’s own membership."
One of the web's largest and
most authoritative business and investment information sources. Alongside
topical, daily news on worldwide
tax developments, you can receive weekly newswires or
access up-to-date intelligence
reports on a range of legal, tax and investment subjects.
Our 16 constantly updated
intelligence reports cover every important aspect of 'offshore' and international
tax-planning in depth, including banking secrecy, the EU's savings tax
directive, offshore funds, e-commerce, offshore gaming and transfer pricing.
Reports are available for immediate downloading or as subscription
services with news pages.
Advertising & Marketing
With over 50,000 qualified readers every month our web-sites
offer a number of cost effective, targeted advertising,
sponsorship and marketing opportunities:
Display advertising - from 'skyscrapers' to 'buttons'
Content/article submission and sponsorship
Opt-in email marketing
On-line Services Directory listings
Could your corporate web-site or newsletter benefit
from incorporating regularly updated news and content
tailored to serve your clients' interests? We can provide
a variety of maintenance-free news and content solutions
that can be seamlessly integrated and dynamically delivered:
Click here for a brief introduction
to RSS and instructions on how to get the Tax-News feed.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: THE LOWTAX NETWORK has
taken reasonable care in sourcing and presenting the information contained on
this site, but accepts no responsibility for any financial or other loss or damage
that may result from its use. In particular, users of the site are advised to
take appropriate professional advice before committing themselves to involvement
in offshore jurisdictions, offshore trusts or offshore investments. All materials
on this site copyright THE LOWTAX NETWORK 1999 to 2010. Contact
us for further information.
TAX-NEWS.COM
Free Tax-News Feed