Vanuatu Finance Minister Reiterates Stance Against OECD

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

26 September 2001

After comments from Vanuatu Finance Minister Joe Carlo, it is believed that he has refused to meet the OECD's demands to provide details of the Island's international tax haven revenue.

Mr Carlo met with OECD representatives in Port Vila last week with intentions to protest against the pressure the multilateral organisation is putting on Vanuatu. He described the attempts of the OECD to shut down Pacific tax havens as unfair and claimed that they do not consider the problems experienced by jurisdictions in the area. Indeed, he argued, the economy would be in dire straits if Vanuatu was forced to relinquish its tax haven status and the income that goes with it.

Mr Carlo told reporters just before the meeting: 'If the OECD were to tell us, or to give us another option to raise those revenues for our shortfall in our budget, annually, then certainly there would be no question about making commitments. But up till now, they have been asking us - the jurisdictions within Oceania, the small island-nations - to comply with their rulings. But they have not given us any other options as to how to raise the balance of those shortfalls.'

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