OECD publishes ten information exchange evaluation reports

The OECD Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax purposes released, on 28 January 2011, ten reports that evaluate jurisdictions’ commitment to tax transparency, and examine whether information is made available and accessible to foreign tax authorities. These reports follow eight others released in September last year.

The Global Forum has been mandated by the G-20 to assist specific jurisdictions, as well as the international community, to assess the status of national tax legislation, examine whether the laws are enforced, and make recommendations for improvement.

The Global Forum released Phase 1 reports, which assess the legal and regulatory framework of the jurisdictions, in respect of five jurisdictions – Barbados, Guernsey, the Seychelles, San Marino and Trinidad and Tobago – as well as combined Phase 1 and Phase 2 reviews assessing both the legal framework and the practical implementation of the standard in respect of five others – Australia, Denmark, Ireland, Mauritius and Norway

Of the Phase 1 reviews, Barbados, the Seychelles, San Marino and Trinidad and Tobago all fell short of the international standard and will need to implement the recommendations made in their reports before moving to the next phase of their evaluations. It was noted that San Marino had recently passed important legislation and would be further examined by the Global Forum. The report on Guernsey found that a satisfactory legal framework was in place but the OECD said there were minor issues that Guernsey has been asked to address.

Of the combined reviews, Australia, Denmark, Ireland and Norway had achieved effective exchange of information in practice, although there were some minor issues related to information on bearer shares or nominees that would have to be addressed. For Mauritius, there were missing elements in the legal framework, such as accounting information on some of the offshore companies, while there was also room for improvement in practice, in particular as regards the access to bank information by the tax authorities.

More than 60 reports will be completed by the year-end.