Countering International Tax Evasion: A stock-taking by OECD

In a recently released report entitled Overview of the OECD’s Work on Countering International Tax Evasion, the OECD has undertaken a stock-taking exercise on its work on the politically ticklish issue of International Tax Evasion. It inter-alia states that;

The Report shows that real progress has been made, both in terms of how widely the standards are accepted and the extent to which they have been implemented. Nonetheless, a great deal of work remains to make sure that all jurisdictions accept these principles, and to guarantee that jurisdictions that have made a commitment to implement the standard now follow through. The Global Forum will have to adapt to these new demands by providing a monitoring process that takes all relevant factors into account.

The Report takes into account the veracity of the measures adopted by the various jurisdictions and then prepares a report card to classify them on the basis of the diligence with which the various countries have pursued the demands for installing in place a system which avoids tax evasion at an international plane. Overall, the report provides interesting insights on the issue.