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OECD Forum Moves To Consolidate Measures Against Tax Evasion

by Mike Godfrey, Tax-News.com, Washington

08 September 2009

Representatives from almost 90 jurisdictions around the world and a host of international organisations went to Mexico last week to attend the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information dealing with tax matters.

The Global Forum suggested that the standards on transparency and exchange of information pioneered by the OECD are now almost "universally accepted" and that extraordinary progress has already been made towards their full implementation.

Since the London G20 meeting in April, over 50 new Tax Information Exchange Agreements have been signed (doubling the total number of Agreements signed since 2000) and over 40 double taxation conventions have been signed, the OECD revealed. As a consequence, a further 6 jurisdictions have since substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standards.

Hailing the breakthrough, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría argued that:

“What we are witnessing is nothing short of a revolution. By addressing the challenges posed by the dark side of the tax world, the campaign for global tax transparency is in full flow. We have equipped ourselves with the institutional means to continue the campaign. With the crisis, global public opinion’s expectations are high, their tolerance of non-compliance is zero and we must deliver."

Building on the progress made, the Forum took the following key decisions:

  • To put in place a robust, comprehensive and global monitoring and peer review process to ensure that members implement their commitments. A Peer Review Group has been established to examine the legal and administrative framework in each jurisdiction and practical implementation of these standards, with a first report on monitoring progress to be issued by end 2009.
  • To further expand its membership and to enshrine the principle that all members enjoy equal footing.
  • To speed up the process of negotiating and concluding information exchange agreements, including exploring new multilateral avenues.
  • To put in place a coordinated technical assistance program to assist smaller jurisdictions to implement the standards rapidly.
In addition to being presented to the G20 finance ministers who met in London on September 4-5, the Global Forum’s conclusions will be reported to the meeting of the G20 Leaders Summit in Pittsburgh on September 24-25.

In 2002, Global Forum members worked together to draft a model agreement on exchange of information on tax matters which is now used as a basis for bilateral agreements. Its most recent assessment, 'Tax Co-operation 2009: Towards a Level Playing Field' based on information available up until 31 July 2009, was published on 31 August 2009.

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