Twelve new reports have been issued by the OECD’s Global Forum, emphasizing measures that need to be taken by jurisdictions to reach the required international standard for the exchange of tax information. The “Global Forum on transparency and information exchange for tax purposes” consists of member countries that include the G20 countries and all member countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in addition to some other non-OECD countries. The Global Forum has a mandate to ensure the rapid implementation of tax transparency standards by conducting “peer reviews” of its member countries and of other jurisdictions where a review is considered to be required. It has a secretariat within the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration.

So far the Global Forum has carried out 132 peer reviews and has given a rating for the level of compliance in 54 jurisdictions in which it has conducted Phase Two reviews. The Terms of Reference of the Global Forum are currently being upgraded in anticipation of a new program of reviews that is due to begin in 2016. These reviews will be examining the extent to which countries are implementing the new Common Reporting Standard set by the OECD in February 20114 for the automatic exchange of information.  This new standard has been approved by the Finance Ministers of the G20 countries.