The Ministry of Finance of South Africa issued a media statement on 12 October 2013, stating that United Kingdom and South Africa have agreed to work together to tackle offshore tax avoidance including through pressing for better international action. In this regard, South Africa will connect the pilot scheme for the automatic tax information exchange which initiate by the UK, along with Germany, France, Spain and Italy. The subject of how to combat international tax evasion has received increased attention with the formulation of an action plan by the G20 and OECD. A number of agreements for the exchange of tax information have recently been signed by governments to ensure that taxable income cannot be hidden in foreign jurisdictions.