OECD cocks a snook at EU tax blacklist

Chris Hamblin

7 July 2015

Pascal Saint-Amans, the OECD’s head of global tax policy, said yesterday: “Guernsey is in the leading group of jurisdictions who are active in the practical implementation of tax transparency and co-operation. Their adherence to the internationally accepted standards developed by the OECD means that there is clear and demonstrable criteria against which the OECD can consider them as a co-operative jurisdiction. The fact that Guernsey has been peer-reviewed as part of the Global Forum illustrates that other jurisdictions also consider Guernsey transparent and co-operative against those international standards.”

Monica Bhatia, his colleague, said: "I am very surprised that Guernsey has been included in a list of non-cooperative jurisdictions. We are very pleased with the cooperation Guernsey has shown as a very active member of the Global Forum."

Guernsey’s track record vis-à-vis "tax co-operation and transparency" includes the following.

Its voluntary capitulation in the face of the EU Savings Directive and a move to exchanging information automatically in 2011, sending information relating to accounts held in Guernsey by individuals resident in EU countries automatically to their home jurisdictions each year.
Voluntarily adhering to the principles of the Code of Conduct on Business Taxation, which came from ECOFIN, the Council of Economics and Finance Ministers, on 1 December 1997.
Being part of the 'early adopter group' of the Common Reporting Standard on automatic exchange of information, after signing the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement in October 2014.
Being assessed by the OECD’s Global Forum on Tax Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes as 'largely compliant' with the international standards on exchange of information on request – a rating that it shares with the UK, Germany and the USA.
Being a party to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.
Having 58 Tax Information Exchange Agreements (22 of them with EU Member States and 16 of them with the members of the G20) and 13 Double Taxation Agreements in place.