OECD welcomes tax information exchange agreements between the Netherlands Antilles and Australia and New Zealand

02/03/2007 - The Netherlands Antilles yesterday signed bilateral agreements with Australia and New Zealand for the exchange of information for tax purposes, marking further progress in international efforts to implement the principles of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes developed by the OECD’s Global Forum on Taxation.  The Netherlands Antilles signed a similar accord in 2002 with the United States. These agreements confirm the Netherlands Antilles’ commitment to high international standards and its stature as a responsible international financial centre.

The Netherlands Antilles was an early participant in the OECD’s initiative to improve transparency and exchange of information in tax matters. Since 2000, it has worked with OECD countries to develop these principles and implement measures to support them. It played an important role in drafting the Model Agreement on Exchange of Information in Tax Matters, which was published in 2002.

Paolo Ciocca, Chairman of the OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs and Co-Chair of the Global Forum, welcomed the agreement as further evidence of the commitment to greater transparency and international co-operation in tax matters. “I congratulate the parties on signing these agreements,” Mr. Ciocca said in a statement. “This is the second such agreement signed  by Australia within the last few weeks and the first for New Zealand.I trust that the year ahead will see an intensification of co-operative efforts by other countries to conclude their own negotiations for similar agreements. It is clear that we have moved to a new phase in our work in which the principles, that we have devoted so much effort to developing, become part of actual agreements between countries.”

The OECD’s work in this area is designed to enable countries to fully and fairly enforce their tax laws (see progress reports issued in 2000, 2001, 2004 and 2006). A total of, 33 jurisdictions have committed to work with OECD countries under the auspices of the OECD’s Global Forum on Taxation to improve transparency and to establish effective information exchange for tax purposes. Many other countries and international organizations have also endorsed these principles. Current efforts are aimed at encouraging all countries to work towards the achievement of a global level playing by implementing high standards of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. A recent report “Tax co-operation: Towards a Level Playing Field – 2006 Assessment by the Global Forum on Taxation” indicates that most countries have made considerable progress in implementing the transparency and exchange of information standards that the Global Forum wishes to see achieved.

For further information, journalists are invited to contact: in Australia, Brad Emery (tel: + 612 62 77 73 60 ); in the Netherlands Antilles Cedric Josepa (tel: + 559-9 7342000); and for New Zealand, Ted Sheehan (04 470 6985 or 021 638 920) or in France, the OECD’s Media Division (tel: + 33 1 452 4 97 00).