OECD Responds To 'Level Playing Field' Concerns

by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com, London

14 February 2003

According to a report in the Antigua Sun newspaper on Wednesday, the jurisdiction's High Commissioner to London and Chief Negotiator on International Financial Services, Sir Ronald Sanders has received a response from the OECD regarding his request for a meeting.

Following the EU's announcement last month that Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg will not be required to exchange information on tax matters until third-party countries such as Switzerland and the United States agree to do so, Sir Ronald requested a meeting of the OECD Global Tax Forum so that 'all jurisdictions could collectively decide whether there is any basis for further commitment to the OECD's initiative to eliminate tax competition.'

In his letter to OECD Secretary General, Donald Johnston he argued that the level-playing field over tax upon which the cooperation of so many offshore jurisdictions was conditional no longer exists.

The Antigua Sun revealed that:

'According to a document circulated to members of the Bureau of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA), the Secretary-General has informed the EU presidency of the concerns expressed in the letters circulated by Antigua and Barbuda, Cayman Islands, Panama and St Vincent and the Grenadines.'

In the document, the Bureau stated that it 'understands the importance to all countries of acheiving a level playing field in this area and we are committed to working with you to acheive it. We would like to continue our constructive dialogue and work together to secure progress on international standards on exchange of information and transparency, along the lines of our previous discussions.'

With this in mind, the Bureau of the CFA announced, it will be communicating with the Informal Contact Group in order to encourage them to agree upon a time and location for a global forum meeting in the near future.

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