In a list of 50 countries reviewed by the OECD for its Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, only 18 were deemed to be ‘compliant’, with many others falling short of the required standards.
In total 120 countries are members of the Global Forum.
Some of those deemed to be compliant by the OECD do not surprise, such as Australia and Canada and some of the northern European countries. However, China was also deemed compliant, but not Hong Kong which received a ‘largely compliant’ rating, as did India which was receiving its first full OECD rating and South Korea.
It is also interesting to note that Singapore and the UK both fell slightly short, achieving only a ‘largely compliant rating’.
Of the 50 countries rated, only four were deemed to be ‘non-compliant’, these were: Luxembourg, The British Virgin Islands, Cyprus and The Seychelles.
On receiving its compliant rating Isle of Man chief minister Allan Bell MHK said: “The rating announced today by the OECD’s Global Forum puts the Isle of Man into the premier league and yet again confirms its position as one of the world’s leading international business centres.
“The standard required to achieve a top rating is very high as can been seen by the number of jurisdictions that have not yet made the grade. This is an achievement the Isle of Man is rightly proud of. It is yet further evidence of the Island’s international standing and reputation and that the Island can no longer be referred to as a ‘tax haven’.”
