Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes
Encyclopedia
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has been the multilateral framework within which work in the area transparency and exchange of information has been carried out by both OECD
and non-OECD economies since 2000.
Issues addressed at the forum include money laundering
, tax evasion
, tax heavens, Offshore Financial Centre
s, Tax information exchange agreements
(TIEA) and Double Taxation Convetions (DTC).
The forum is established under the auspices of the OECD and G20
.
:
Tax jurisdictions
Commitments to join in 2012 are expressed by Latvia
, Lithuania
and Romania
. The remaining EU member is Bulgaria
. Lebanon
also has recently engaged with the Forum. A number of other countries from Asia and Africa are expected to join in 2012. Other jurisdictions currently or formerly on the FATF blacklist
are: Egypt
, Sao Tome and Principe
, Ukraine
, Iran
, Pakistan
, Turkmenistan
, Uzbekistan
, Myanmar
. Other offshore financial centres are: Djibouti
, Maldives
, Kiribati
, Vatican City
, Tonga
, American Samoa
, French Polynesia
, Pitcairn.
The number of observers is also expected to increase with additional relevant organizations, especially Regional development banks and Regional economic unions. The World Customs Organisation is already engaged. Representatives of the following additional organizations participated in meetings of the forum:
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is an international economic organisation of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade...
and non-OECD economies since 2000.
Issues addressed at the forum include money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
, tax evasion
Tax evasion
Tax evasion is the general term for efforts by individuals, corporations, trusts and other entities to evade taxes by illegal means. Tax evasion usually entails taxpayers deliberately misrepresenting or concealing the true state of their affairs to the tax authorities to reduce their tax liability,...
, tax heavens, Offshore Financial Centre
Offshore financial centre
An offshore financial centre , though not precisely defined, is usually a small, low-tax jurisdiction specializing in providing corporate and commercial services to non-resident offshore companies, and for the investment of offshore funds....
s, Tax information exchange agreements
Tax information exchange agreements
Tax information exchange agreements provide for exchange of information on request relating to a specific criminal or civil tax investigation or civil tax matters under investigation....
(TIEA) and Double Taxation Convetions (DTC).
The forum is established under the auspices of the OECD and G20
G-20 major economies
The Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank...
.
Members
As of November 2011 members of the Global Forum are 105 tax jurisdictions and the European UnionEuropean Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
:
Tax jurisdictions
Observers
As of November 2011 there are 9 observer intergovernmental organizations:- Asian Development BankAsian Development BankThe Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
- Commonwealth SecretariatCommonwealth SecretariatThe Commonwealth Secretariat is the main intergovernmental agency and central institution of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is responsible for facilitating cooperation between members; organising meetings, including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meetings ; assisting and advising on policy...
- European Bank for Reconstruction and DevelopmentEuropean Bank for Reconstruction and DevelopmentFounded in 1991, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development uses the tools of investment to help build market economies and democracies in 30 countries from central Europe to central Asia. Its mission was to support the formerly communist countries in the process of establishing their...
- European Investment BankEuropean Investment BankThe European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. A policy-driven bank, the EIB supports the EU’s priority objectives, especially European integration and the development of economically weak regions...
- Inter-American Development BankInter-American Development BankThe Inter-American Development Bank is the largest source of development financing for Latin America and the Caribbean...
- International Monetary FundInternational Monetary FundThe International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
- International Finance CorporationInternational Finance CorporationThe International Finance Corporation promotes sustainable private sector investment in developing countries.IFC is a member of the World Bank Group and is headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States....
- United NationsUnited NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
- World BankWorld BankThe World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
Enlargement
In October 2011 the forum accepted as new members El Salvador, Mauritania, Morocco and Trinidad and Tobago.Commitments to join in 2012 are expressed by Latvia
Latvia
Latvia , officially the Republic of Latvia , is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , to the southeast by Belarus and shares maritime borders to the west with Sweden...
, Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
and Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
. The remaining EU member is Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
also has recently engaged with the Forum. A number of other countries from Asia and Africa are expected to join in 2012. Other jurisdictions currently or formerly on the FATF blacklist
FATF Blacklist
The FATF blacklist was the common shorthand description for the Financial Action Task Force list of "Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories" ; that is, countries which it perceived to be non-cooperative in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing...
are: Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Sao Tome and Principe
São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is a Portuguese-speaking island nation in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two islands: São Tomé and Príncipe, located about apart and about , respectively, off...
, Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
, Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan
Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...
, Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan , officially the Republic of Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia and one of the six independent Turkic states. It shares borders with Kazakhstan to the west and to the north, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan to the east, and Afghanistan and Turkmenistan to the south....
, Myanmar
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
. Other offshore financial centres are: Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
, Maldives
Maldives
The Maldives , , officially Republic of Maldives , also referred to as the Maldive Islands, is an island nation in the Indian Ocean formed by a double chain of twenty-six atolls oriented north-south off India's Lakshadweep islands, between Minicoy Island and...
, Kiribati
Kiribati
Kiribati , officially the Republic of Kiribati, is an island nation located in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. The permanent population exceeds just over 100,000 , and is composed of 32 atolls and one raised coral island, dispersed over 3.5 million square kilometres, straddling the...
, Vatican City
Vatican City
Vatican City , or Vatican City State, in Italian officially Stato della Città del Vaticano , which translates literally as State of the City of the Vatican, is a landlocked sovereign city-state whose territory consists of a walled enclave within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of...
, Tonga
Tonga
Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga , is a state and an archipelago in the South Pacific Ocean, comprising 176 islands scattered over of ocean in the South Pacific...
, American Samoa
American Samoa
American Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
, French Polynesia
French Polynesia
French Polynesia is an overseas country of the French Republic . It is made up of several groups of Polynesian islands, the most famous island being Tahiti in the Society Islands group, which is also the most populous island and the seat of the capital of the territory...
, Pitcairn.
The number of observers is also expected to increase with additional relevant organizations, especially Regional development banks and Regional economic unions. The World Customs Organisation is already engaged. Representatives of the following additional organizations participated in meetings of the forum:
- June 2011: African Taxation Administration Forum (ATAF); Caribbean CommunityCaribbean CommunityThe Caribbean Community is an organisation of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy...
Secretariat (CARICOM); Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT); Caribbean Regional Technical Assistance Centre (CARTAC) of the IMF. - October 2011: Financial Action Task Force of South America (GAFISUD);
Compliance reviews
The forum reviews and issues reports on compliance of its member tax jurisdictions. The Global Forum's peer review process examines both the legal and regulatory aspects of exchange (Phase 1 reviews) and the exchange of information in practice (Phase 2).See also
- FATF blacklistFATF BlacklistThe FATF blacklist was the common shorthand description for the Financial Action Task Force list of "Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories" ; that is, countries which it perceived to be non-cooperative in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing...
- List of offshore financial centres
- Financial Secrecy IndexFinancial Secrecy IndexThe Tax Justice Network’s Financial Secrecy Index highlights global financial secrecy, corruption and illicit financial flows. The index was calculated in 2011 and includes data from 73 countries and territories...
- European Union withholding taxEuropean Union withholding taxThe so-called European Union withholding tax is a withholding tax which is deducted from interest earned by European Union residents on their investments made in another member state, by the state in which the investment is held....