During a regional meeting on Challenges and Opportunities in Implementing International Tax Standards in the Pacific held in November 2019, Pacific Islands States recognised the difficulty in prioritising initiatives promoting international tax co-operation over their efforts to reform and strengthen their domestic tax systems. Despite the many challenges, participating jurisdictions acknowledged that an effective implementation of the international standards on transparency and exchange of information (EOI) for tax purposes would be key to fighting tax evasion, reducing illicit financial flows and enhancing domestic resource mobilisation (DRM). The Pacific Initiative was launched in October 2020, based on a phased approach for the gradual implementation of the international standards, to advance tax transparency and strengthen DRM in the region.
Development partners, including the Asian Development Bank, the OECD, the Global Forum, the World Bank, the Pacific Islands Tax Administrators Association (PITAA), the Australian Taxation Office and the New Zealand Inland Revenue, agreed to organise a series of capacity-building and technical assistance activities for the benefit of 16 Pacific jurisdictions (Cook Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu), half of which are Global Forum members. Along with tailored country assistance, these regional workshops support a gradual and consistent implementation of the international tax standards in the Pacific.