11/08/2021 - Today, at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, three countries have signed the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the Convention), bringing the total number of jurisdictions that participate in the Convention to 144.

 

With today's signing, Maldives, Papua New Guinea and Rwanda join the world’s widest reaching multilateral treaty for international tax co-operation and exchange of information. The signings by Asian-Pacific and African countries further strengthen the global nature of the Convention. In addition to over 8000 exchange relationships in place, these signings will trigger 429 new exchange relationships under the Convention for the three signing jurisdictions following their ratification, allowing them to engage in the exchange of information with 143 other jurisdictions, including all major financial centres.

 

 L-R: Josée Fecteau (Director, OECD Legal Department) and Ambassador Sobir (Maldives)
(Click arrows to view more images from today's signing ceremony)

 

The Convention enables jurisdictions to engage in a wide range of mutual assistance in tax matters: exchange of information on request, spontaneous exchange, automatic exchange, tax examinations abroad, simultaneous tax examinations and assistance in tax collection. It guarantees extensive safeguards for the protection of taxpayers' rights.

 

The Convention is the primary instrument for swift implementation of the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters (CRS). The CRS – developed by the OECD and G20 countries – enables more than 100 jurisdictions to automatically exchange offshore financial account information.

 

Beyond the exchange of information on request and the automatic exchange pursuant to the Standard, the Convention is also a powerful tool in the fight against illicit financial flows and is a key instrument for the implementation of the transparency standards of the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project.

 

In addition to the signings, Jordan has today deposited its instrument of ratification of the Convention, ensuring that the Convention is in effect with respect to Jordan as from 2022.

 

Furthermore, Singapore has today deposited a notification subsequent to ratification for the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS (MLI).

 

• More information on the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, including the list of participating countries and jurisdictions, is available at: https://oe.cd/maac

 

Media queries should be directed to Paul Hondius (+33 1 45 24 75 06) of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (CTPA) or the CTPA Communications Team.