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28 Jurisdictions Commit to Improve Information Exchange and Transparency
Today, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued its list of uncooperative tax haven jurisdictions. This list consists of those jurisdictions included on the OECD list of tax haven jurisdictions published in June 2000 that have not yet made commitments to improve their tax information exchange and transparency practices.
Of the 35 jurisdictions on the original tax haven list, only 7 have not made commitments to these principles and therefore are included on the list of uncooperative tax havens.
I am glad to see that our efforts last spring to refocus the OECD project on information exchange and transparency has led to these results. I applaud these countries for coming forward to make a commitment to improve their tax information exchange and transparency policies, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill stated.
In addition to refocusing the OECD Project, last summer, I made a commitment to obtain bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreements with the countries on the original OECD list. We are making substantial progress. So far, we have signed five TIEAs, and I hope to announce more shortly.
Twenty-eight of the jurisdictions on the original list of tax haven countries have made commitments to the project (and six other jurisdictions made advance commitments and therefore were not considered for inclusion on the original list.) Twenty-four of these jurisdictions committed to the project after it was refocused. All of the countries with which the United States has recently signed Tax Information Exchange Agreements-- the Cayman Islands, Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, the British Virgin Islands and the Netherlands Antilles --have made commitments to improve their tax information exchange and transparency policies.