The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has published reports on Phase 2 peer reviews of Belize, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Israel, the Russian Federation and St Vincent and the Grenadines. The reports cover the availability of information in the jurisdictions, access to information and the mechanisms for exchanging information.
The Global Forum monitors the implementation of the international standards on tax transparency. The global standards are contained in the OECD Model Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters of 2002 and the commentary, as well as in Article 26 (exchange of information) of the OECD Model Tax Convention. These global standards are also included in the UN Model.
The standards require the provision of relevant information on request if this is reasonably required for administering or enforcing tax laws. This includes banking information and information that is in the hands of fiduciaries.
The member jurisdictions of the Global Forum and other jurisdictions that are considered by the Forum as relevant to its work are being reviewed in two phases. The reviews in Phase 1 look at the legal and regulatory framework in a jurisdiction for the exchange of information. Phase 2 of the reviews looks at the measures taken for practical implementation of the regulatory framework.
