PARIS,
MAY 21, 2009: ACCORDING to an OECD release, with Dominica,
Grenada and Saint Lucia signing at least 12 exchange of information agreements,
the total tally of tax jurisdictions substantially implementing the OECD standard
on transparency and exchange of information has grown to 28 since April 2009.
The
move affecting Dominica, Grenada and Saint Lucia follows the signature of
a series of agreements involving these three jurisdictions plus Antigua and
Barbuda, which had already reached 12 agreements in December 2009, and the
Nordic countries (Denmark, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway
and Sweden).
Following
these signatures, Antigua and Barmuda has now signed a total of 20 agreements
meeting the international standard. Dominica and Grenada have now signed
13 agreements each, and Saint Lucia has signed 15 agreements.
As members of
the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes,
each of these jurisdictions agreed to participate in a peer review of their
laws and practices in this area. According to a schedule published by the
Global Forum, Antigua and Barbuda, Grenada and Saint Lucia will undergo reviews
of their legal and regulatory framework for exchange of information in 2011
and reviews of their information exchange practices in 2013. Dominica’s
peer reviews will take place in 2012 and 2014.
The
remaining Caribbean jurisdictions to fall in line are Belize, Costa Rica,
Guatemala, Montserrat and Panama.
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