Post by Farmer on Feb 26, 2009 2:50:15 GMT 4
Australia: Australia joins global effort to combat tax havens
On October 21 2008, the assistant treasurer and minister for competition policy and consumer affairs issued a media release stating that the Australian government endorses the strong action taken by 17 countries at the finance minister meeting in Paris on transparency and exchange of information convened by France and Germany. At that meeting, the attendees supported the principle of converging responses to counteract tax fraud and evasion by adopting measures appropriate to each country and coordination of some of their actions. In addition to agreeing on a number of other matters, the participating countries:
* expressed their willingness to use the latest version of the article 26 of the OECD model tax convention when negotiating new double taxation agreements, and to consider in due course terminating some of their existing treaties in cases where amendments could not be made accordingly. Article 26 creates an obligation to exchange information that is relevant to the correct application of a tax convention as well as for purposes of the administration and enforcement of domestic tax laws;
* agreed to ask the OECD to establish a methodology to provide a clear distinction between the countries and territories which have substantially implemented the OECD standard on exchange of information and those which have not, and to publish its conclusions in 2009;
* agreed to ask the OECD to require states which want to join the OECD to implement before joining the principles on transparency and exchange of information; and
* agreed to call on aid agencies to give extra weight to the principles of tax transparency and information exchange when designing their aid programs.
Ian Farmer (ian.farmer@au.pwc.com), Sydney
On October 21 2008, the assistant treasurer and minister for competition policy and consumer affairs issued a media release stating that the Australian government endorses the strong action taken by 17 countries at the finance minister meeting in Paris on transparency and exchange of information convened by France and Germany. At that meeting, the attendees supported the principle of converging responses to counteract tax fraud and evasion by adopting measures appropriate to each country and coordination of some of their actions. In addition to agreeing on a number of other matters, the participating countries:
* expressed their willingness to use the latest version of the article 26 of the OECD model tax convention when negotiating new double taxation agreements, and to consider in due course terminating some of their existing treaties in cases where amendments could not be made accordingly. Article 26 creates an obligation to exchange information that is relevant to the correct application of a tax convention as well as for purposes of the administration and enforcement of domestic tax laws;
* agreed to ask the OECD to establish a methodology to provide a clear distinction between the countries and territories which have substantially implemented the OECD standard on exchange of information and those which have not, and to publish its conclusions in 2009;
* agreed to ask the OECD to require states which want to join the OECD to implement before joining the principles on transparency and exchange of information; and
* agreed to call on aid agencies to give extra weight to the principles of tax transparency and information exchange when designing their aid programs.
Ian Farmer (ian.farmer@au.pwc.com), Sydney