STEP To Host Offshore/OECD Symposium

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

20 July 2005

The Society of Trusts and Estates Practitioners (STEP) will host a policy symposium on rethinking the relationship between OECD States and International Financial Centres in London in September.

"For the first time ever this event genuinely brings together the key players in the public sector and the private sector to engage in a real debate." said Richard Hay co-chairman of STEP's International Committee.

The Symposium, entitled Beyond The Level Playing Field? is also supported by the International Trust Companies Association and will be held at the Institute of Directors in London on 19 and 20 September 2005. As well as private sector support the leading policy thinkers will be present from all the major IFCs including Jersey, Guernsey, the Bahamas, Barbados, Cayman Islands, and the Isle of Man.

The Symposium will discuss whether IFCs can cooperate with OECD member states to remove discriminatory measures and lower tax and regulatory barriers to free trade in international financial services.

Richard Hay said: "Confrontation with OECD is dangerous; capitulation may be worse. This symposium will examine a third option: cooperation in advance of a level playing field with OECD member states, removing discriminatory measures and lowering tax and regulatory barriers to free trade in international financial services".

Says STEP: The OECD Project on tax information exchange launched in 1998 is crippled. Why? The IFCs committed in 2002 to provide transparency and exchange of information, on the basis of a "level playing field" for trade in financial services embracing OECD member states and key non-member jurisdictions. That condition remains outstanding.

The Project reaches a crucial milestone in Australia in November 2005 when the OECD reports to the Global Forum. In the absence of a level playing field should the IFCs reject further cooperation, capitulate or can a constructive way forward be found?

STEP has thousands of members bridging both the onshore and offshore worlds. The International Trust Companies Association (ITCA) also joins STEP as sponsors of the symposium, representing most of the major banking institutions providing trust services in the global finance industry.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP), at www.step.org, is the professional body for the trust and estate profession. STEP members come from the legal, accountancy, corporate trust, banking, insurance and related professions and are involved at all levels in the planning, creation and management of and accounting for, trusts and estates, executorship, administration and related taxes.

STEP is an international learning network with over 11,000 members in 69 branches spanning 55 jurisdictions across the globe. Membership covers common, civil and sharia law jurisdictions and is concentrated in the UK, the Crown Dependencies, Canada, the Caribbean and Europe.

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