A report was prepared by the Global Forum for the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on 25 and 26 July 2024.

This report reflects the Forum’s commitment to fighting tax evasion and illicit financial flows by measures for increased transparency on beneficial ownership of legal entities, legal arrangements and bank accounts.

In 2016 the Global Forum developed a plan to ensure broad implementation of the beneficial ownership standards for exchange of information (EOI). The plan identified areas where further improvement was required. One component of the action plan focused on peer reviews of beneficial ownership requirements. The results of the peer reviews were satisfactory in relation to beneficial ownership information on bank accounts. However, around half the jurisdictions assessed on beneficial ownership of legal entities and arrangements under the EOIR standard have been found to have deficiencies in their legal framework or in the effective implementation of the framework for beneficial ownership. The peer reviews found weak legislation, problems with data quality and lack of supervision and enforcement.

The Global Forum and the financial action task force (FATF) have collaborated on issues around beneficial ownership. The EOIR peer reviews show close convergence between the work of the Global Forum and the FATF work on the beneficial ownership framework. The Global Forum focuses on the dissemination of best practices and examples of effective implementation, in addition to providing assistance to countries requiring it. This work has benefited all member countries of the Forum and especially developing jurisdictions.

In combating tax evasion and other illicit financial flows it is important to implement a robust framework for beneficial ownership. The Global Forum therefore works with its partners to conduct training and other technical assistance activities. Also, a toolkit was released in 2019, compiled together with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). The toolkit was updated in 2021 and in 2024 to take into account the experience gained from the peer reviews. An e-learning course was launched by the Forum together with the Asia Development Bank (ADB) in 2020.

The Global Forum is continuing to follow up on the recommendations issued to member countries on deficiencies in their beneficial ownership frameworks and the implementation of further measures. The implementation of the revised FATF Recommendations 24 and 25, which are in synergy with the EOIR and AEOI standards, is a further step towards increasing transparency.

The OECD is exploring further ways to use beneficial ownership information that is relevant for tax purposes, making use of the latest technology. Many jurisdictions are in the course of implementing beneficial ownership registers for legal entities and arrangements in their jurisdiction, in line with obligations under international standards. Registers of beneficial ownership are increasingly digital and provide different levels of access to law enforcement agencies and to other parties with a specific interest in the data. These developments may in the medium term create an opportunity for tax authorities to gain fast-track access to up-to-date information about resident taxpayers that are beneficial owners of legal entities or arrangements. This will need to be subject to certain safeguards but will allow access to relevant information held in foreign registries. The technical and legal feasibility of this technology-driven architecture is currently being examined by the OECD as part of its work on enhancing tax transparency with respect to real estate.