OECD Global Forum on Transparency & Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (GFTEI) - Peer Review Group Meeting to be Held in The Bahamas

From 20th to 22nd July 2010, the 3rd Meeting of the Peer Review Group of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), will be held in Nassau. This will be the first time that The Bahamas hosts a meeting of an OECD-related initiative.

The Peer Review Group (PRG) was established by the Global Forum in September 2009, as a technical working group consisting of representatives of 30 countries, including The Bahamas. The PRG is operating under a mandate to develop and implement a system for the assessment, monitoring and review of actions taken by member countries toward the implementation of the established standards for transparency and information exchange with regard to tax matters.

The newly developed Peer Review Process was launched in March 2010, and is now in its first stage of implementation, beginning with the assessment of the first group of 18 jurisdictions, including: Australia, Barbados, Bermuda, Botswana, Canada, Cayman Islands, Denmark, Germany, India, Ireland, Jamaica, Jersey, Mauritius, Monaco, Norway, Panama, Qatar, and Trinidad & Tobago.

Approximately one hundred jurisdictions, including The Bahamas, will be assessed over the next three years, in a 2-phase process (similar to that employed by the Financial Action Task Force) that examines legal and regulatory frameworks for transparency and information exchange as well as practical implementation. The Phase 1 review for The Bahamas has begun as of 1 July, and should take 6 months, with the Phase 2 review being scheduled for July 2012. Based on the PRG’s Assessment Criteria, there will be a need to continually address, from now on, the issue of transparency and exchange of information for tax matters, including through the negotiation of new TIEAs.

In March 2010, The Bahamas achieved the minimum standard of 12 signed TIEAs that was required in order to be removed from the OECD/G20 greylist. As of Thursday 17 June 2010, twenty-two TIEAs have been signed by The Bahamas, including agreements with the United States, Monaco, San Marino, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, the People’s Republic of China, Argentina, the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Mexico, the Nordic Countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, The Faroes and Greenland), Spain, Australia, Germany and Canada.

The Bahamas is committed to being a responsible member of the international community, and to satisfying and complying with international standards applicable to it as a financial services centre.