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| Director of the St. Kitts Financial Services, Ms. Shawna Brisbane |
BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, MAY 30TH 2006 - Several members of the International Trade and Investment Organisation (ITIO) and non-members have worked diligently to put in place the necessary legal and administrative frameworks to support agreements which include provisions for the effective exchange of tax information.
So says Director of the St. Kitts Financial Services Shawna Lake. Lake, who is also the Secretary of the ITIO, its members continue to be open and willing to negotiate appropriate bilateral agreements that promote a common framework for transparency and tax information exchange around the world and which provide for competition on a level playing field.
The comments came following a report published Monday by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's (OECD) Global Forum on Taxation.
Chair of the ITIO Brenda Heather Latu of Samoa said while the OECD's report shows important progress in the process of working towards a global level playing field, small nations are still disadvantaged when it comes to negotiating tax related treaties and agreements.
She noted that many ITIO members actively participated in the OECD's review of legal and administrative frameworks providing for transparency and exchange of tax information in more than 80 countries.
Ms. Latu also explained that the exchange of tax information between countries has traditionally been covered in what are known as double taxation agreements (DTAs). There are more than 2,000 DTAs in existence.
"Small and developing countries are frequently excluded from or not given the opportunity to participate in such treaty networks because they do not have the economic influence of larger nations - specifically in such areas as trade and export of commodities or resources," said Ms. Latu.
"This becomes a "vicious circle" in which the economic influence of small and developing countries is held back by being excluded from treaty networks."
Ms. Latu stated that what has emerged is a "two tiered system" in which larger and more developed countries offer DTAs to each other and certain other nations - like those which have sought-after natural resources such as oil - while smaller and developing countries are subject to a, "second-class arrangement in the form of stand-alone tax information exchange agreements, which do not provide the types of benefits found in DTAs."
Isle of Man representative and currently ITIO Deputy Chair, Mr. Malcolm Couch, said ITIO members will continue to actively advance its position individually,
in bilateral relations and collectively.
The ITIO recognised the hard work and commitment of those countries and organisations that have been involved in progressing the level playing field project, and in particular the Commonwealth, which has worked tirelessly to promote fairness.
Formed in 2001, the ITIO works for a level playing field in the trade in services, particularly in the development and implementation of new regulatory standards. This includes, but extends beyond, taxation issues and entails dealing with a wide range of international bodies.
The ITIO is unique among groupings of small and developing economies, being funded entirely by its members, which gives it total independence. It seeks to take account of Members' varying needs and stages of development and to produce results that are of benefit to all.
The ITIO members are: Anguilla, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Isle of Man, Panama, St. Kitts & Nevis, Samoa, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Turks & Caicos and Vanuatu.
The Commonwealth Secretariat, CARICOM, Pacific Islands Forum, Caribbean Development Bank and Eastern Caribbean Central Bank have Observer status.
