Vanuatu Makes Commitment and is Removed from OECD List of Unco-operative Tax Havens

20/05/2003 - The OECD welcomes the commitment that Vanuatu has made to improve the transparency of its tax and regulatory systems and establish effective exchange of information for tax matters with OECD countries by 31 December 2005.

Vanuatu thus becomes the first country to be removed from the OECD's list of unco-operative tax havens, published in April 2002, and the thirty second non-OECD country to commit to the principles of transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes. The OECD hopes the remaining six jurisdictions included in its list of unco-operative tax havens will now make similar commitments.

Vanuatu will be invited to join the OECD Member countries and other participating countries in meetings of the OECD's Global Forum to discuss the design of standards related to its commitment. The OECD looks forward to working closely with Vanuatu.

The full text of the commitment is available on the OECD's website at http://www.oecd.org/pdf/M00041000/M00041258.pdf

For further information, journalists are invited to contact Nicholas Bray, OECD's Media Relations Division (tel. [33] 1 45 24 80 90).