TO carry forward the battle against international tax evasion and bank
secrecy, the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax
Purposes has issued 12 new peer review reports.
Reports on Andorra,
Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Austria, Bahrain, the Virgin Islands (British),
Curaçao, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Saint Kitts and Nevis and the Turks and
Caicos Islands focus on their legal frameworks which allow for transparency and
exchange of tax information. The review of the United Kingdom also considers the
exchange of information in practice.
In addition, two supplementary
reports - for Belgium and the Cayman Islands - show that they are swiftly
amending their domestic legislation to address recommendations made by the
Global Forum in previous reviews.
In all 12 new reviews, the most common
deficiencies relate to: the lack of available ownership information as regards
trusts and bearer shares; incomplete accounting information for some forms of
trusts and partnerships, including foreign or international entities; and some
limitations in the international agreements allowing for exchange of
information.
The supplementary reviews, part of the Global Forum’s new
follow-up procedures, show that Belgium’s compliance with the international
standards improved significantly when it introduced new legislation lifting bank
secrecy related to international tax matters. And the Cayman Islands
demonstrated its commitment to implementing the international standards for
transparency and exchange of information by amending account keeping
requirements in relation to companies, partnerships, exempted limited
partnerships, and trusts. The Phase II reviews of Belgium and the Cayman
Islands, assessing their exchange of information in practice, will take place
during the second half of 2012.
After reporting changes in their domestic
legislation, five jurisdictions (Barbados, the Virgin Islands (British),
Mauritius, Panama, San Marino and the Turks and Caicos Islands) will undergo
supplementary reviews. The Global Forum is also monitoring those jurisdictions
which have not provided feedback on actions they are taking.
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