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Nations Sign onto OECD’s Automatic Tax Data Exchange
By Irene Madongo
printRepresentatives from 51 jurisdictions Wednesday formalized their commitment to automatically exchange data starting in 2017 and 2018 as part of a global effort to limit tax evasion. At a forum hosted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the nations formally agreed to share the information annually and, in most cases, reciprocally, according to the group. During the event, member-states agreed to include beneficial ownership information with data sent to tax authorities of requesting treaty partners. While the plan will help stem nations' financial losses, it is also likely to generate new compliance burdens for bankers. "Banks and...
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Financial institutions should expect no leniency from their national regulators if they fail to comply with an intergovernmental agreement to stamp out tax evasion, according to an official heading the initiative.
With new international data-exchange agreements in place, the United Kingdom will soon have greater access than ever to information on tax dodgers with offshore accounts, according to the nation's Financial Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke.
The price tag financial institutions will face implementing a newly-endorsed intergovernmental plan to fight tax evasion will be high despite their recent investments to comply with similar American demands.
Thirty-four nations disclosed a finalized model plan Monday to regularly share financial data for tax enforcement purposes as part of a broader crackdown on tax dodgers and offshore jurisdictions.
An intergovernmental group Tuesday criticized Austria, Spain and the Netherlands for failing to sufficiently investigate and convict individuals and corporations that bribe foreign officials.
Many tax havens have done the bare minimum to remove themselves from an intergovernmental group's list of regulatory-lax jurisdictions, at times only signing tax treaties with other bank secrecy countries.
OECD official Jeffrey Owens spoke with reporter Brian Monroe about why tax evasion has grown in importance, and how the recent fine against Swiss bank UBS has been a wakeup call for some banks.
The use of charities to evade taxes is "serious and increasing," robbing some countries of hundreds of millions of dollars per year, according to a European economic policy group.