Opposition Confirms Gibraltar Is Excluded From OECD Meeting In March 2001

Amanda Banks, Tax-news.com, London

02 March 2001

After accusing the Gibraltar government of being secretive over its plans on how it intends to react towards the OECD's demands to reform its 'harmful tax practices,' the Gibraltar opposition says it is led to understand that Gibraltar will not be invited to the OECD's Global Forum with Cooperative Jurisdictions on Exchange of Information which is scheduled for 12-13 March.

This is down to the fact that only those territories that have sent letters of commitment to the OECD detailing their intention to meet the multilateral's demands will be invited to participate. A press release issued by the GSLP/Liberal opposition said: 'A blacklist of uncooperative tax havens will be published by the OECD at the end of July, and this is expected to include territories which have not issued a letter of commitment indicating that they will act in line with OECD demands. The Government of Gibraltar, while refusing to supply any details to the House of Assembly, have indicated that they intend to comply with the OECD deadline and that a consultation paper will be issued soon. That deadline is now four months away.'

Clearly Gibraltar will not be one of the first territories to be taken off the OECD blacklist as only those countries due to be 'unlisted' have been invited to the forum, the purpose of which, according to the OECD is to 'discuss the design and implementation of effective exchange of information agreements.'

Territories such as the Isle of Man and the Seychelles are among the most recent countries to issue letters of commitment to the OECD which conform to the Memorandum of Understanding issued by the OECD last year. The Gibraltar opposition cites the example of the Isle of Man, which states in its letter of commitment that it agrees to the OECD demands but on the basis that 'there will be a level playing field, and that all countries, including OECD Member States, will be subjected to sanctions if they do not comply by the end 2005.'

The Gibraltar opposition says it will continue with its policy of 'making public what little information it has available, given the silence on the specifics of this subject by the Government. It remains the view of the Opposition to gather as much information as possible in order to be able to take a policy decision on the way forward.'

The oppostion has repeatedly accused the government of secrecy over the OECD tax issue and in its defence the government has issued a statement explaining that it is undertaking continuous dialogue with the multilateral body saying it has 'indicated publicly on many occasions that it envisages giving the required commitments. The on-going dialogue with the OECD is designed to ensure that before the commitment is given there is a guarantee of a global level playing field on financial services, that the same standards will apply to all other jurisdictions around the world and that there is clarity and certainty as to what is required.'

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