OECD: Trinidad and Tobago the only country on the Blacklist

7 years ago - Published in Finance, Fiscal & Legal

Trinidad & Tobago is the last remaining tax haven in the world, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Paris-based body said the caribbean state is the sole "non-compliant" tax jurisdiction of a list of 15 regions it has complied, a statement many will view as controversial. It said that compared to last year, 13 jurisdictions have now become "largely compliant". Precisely, they are: Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Costa Rica, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Guatemala, the Federated States of Micronesia, Lebanon, Nauru, Panama, Samoa, the United Arab Emirates and Vanuatu. According to the report, the Marshall Islands are "partially compliant".

The OECD said: "Trinidad and Tobago has been identified as the only jurisdiction which has not yet made sufficient progress towards satisfactory implementation of the tax transparency standards. Discussions are continuing with Trinidad and Tobago, and progress is anticipated soon."

Switzerland is one of the countries that have "broadly achieved" the objectives set by the organization, together with the United States, the United Kingdom and Germany.

The blacklist was to include countries that failed to meet at least two out of three criteria: being at least “largely compliant” on exchanging tax information on request, a commitment to automatic information exchange and a commitment to exchange information on a sufficiently broad or “multilateral” basis.

The international body, which covers 142 member states, said it has made "massive progress" with the other regions on the list to bring their tax affairs in line with international standards.

The OECD has been working to enhance global tax transparency, end banking secrecy and protect public finances by curtailing tax evasion since 2008 and has developed a series of international tax transparency standards and constantly monitors and reviews implementation and adhesion by its 142 members.
The OCED, however, said discussions are continuing with Trinidad and Tobago and progress is anticipated soon. The black list will be officially  showed during next G20 in Hamburg on 7–8 July.