Dominica : France has updated its list of non-cooperative states and territories on the exchange of tax information, with Dominica benefiting from that move.
Paris has removed 11 countries from that list – six of them are from the Caribbean.
The six are Dominica, Anguilla, Belize, Grenada, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
The French decision was taken in early April.
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes have been pushing for countries around the world, including those in the Caribbean, to embrace internationally accepted standards on tax matters, seeking to have so-called tax havens become more transparent in their business dealings.
The two organisations are reporting that in recent times there has been a sea change in the level of tax cooperation throughout the world.
The OECD says that in response to the G20 group of countries’ call at a Summit in Washington in November 2008, there has been a widespread commitment by many jurisdictions worldwide to eliminating obstacles to information exchange in tax matters.
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes was established at a follow-up G20 Summit in London to ensure that commitments to implementing internationally accepted standards translate into actions and all jurisdictions participate on an equal footing.
According to the OECD, these actions to improve transparency for tax purposes will also assist the fight against corruption and money laundering.
Caribbean nations are among states which have been signing bilateral exchange of information agreements with European and other countries.
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