03 April 2009
Jersey’s Chief Minister has welcomed the news that Jersey’s long-standing commitment to meeting international standards of financial regulation and transparency has been recognised by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its Tax Pledge, published following today’s (2 April 2009) G20 Summit.
Senator Terry Le Sueur says: “The OECD has published a report into the progress made by financial centres towards meeting the internationally agreed standard on exchange of information for tax purposes. This report highlights Jersey as one of the jurisdictions that have substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standard. In the report, Jersey features on the “white list” alongside jurisdictions like the UK, USA, France and Germany.
“We have always been confident that Jersey’s position as a well-regulated, international finance centre which meets global standards of financial regulation and tax information exchange would be recognised internationally.
“We have been working closely with organisations like the OECD, the International Monetary Fund, the Financial Stability Forum and the Financial Action Task Force on these matters for many years and we will continue to work with the international community as the OECD develops frameworks for strengthening governance of the world economy.”
ends
Notes to Editors:
For further information, please contact Senator Terry le Sueur on 07797 718798
The internationally agreed tax standard, which was developed by the OECD in co-operation with non-OECD countries and which was endorsed by G20 Finance Ministers at their Berlin Meeting in 2004 and by the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters at its October 2008 Meeting, requires exchange of information on request in all tax matters for the administration and enforcement of domestic tax law without regard to a domestic tax interest requirement or bank secrecy for tax purposes.
It also provides for extensive safeguards to protect the confidentiality of the information exchanged. http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/38/14/42497950.pdf
Jersey has signed Tax Information Exchange Agreements with the USA (2002); the Netherlands (2007): the seven Nordic countries (Denmark, the Faroes, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden – in 2008) Germany (2008), the UK, France and Ireland (2009).
Negotiations are well advanced with Australia and New Zealand and discussions are underway with Italy and Spain.
The Director of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, Jeffrey Owens, said last week: “At a time when many countries have been promising change, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man have been delivering.
“Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man have consistently supported the work of the OECD and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information, with Jersey and the Isle of Man taking an active and constructive role in the work of the Global Forum’s Sub-Group on Level Playing Field Issues.
“The positive outcomes of the Sub-Group’s work, as well as the lead that these jurisdictions have taken in signing tax information exchange agreements, have played a big part in the developments in favour of greater transparency that we are now seeing around the globe.”
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