The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has released its bi-annual Economic Brief of Finland, with an assessment of the country's economy and tax system and recommendations for changes. According to the newly published report, Finland was one of the OECD-member nations most effected during the global economic downturn, and, although, it had fared relatively well coming out of the contraction, economic changes must now be made. The proposed changes in the tax system will ensure enhanced tax efficiency and future economic ... Read More

The Australian Government has signed eight new bilateral Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA) in a concentrated effort to enhance global tax transparency and reduce offshore tax evasion. On April 6th-7th Senator Nick Sherry, Assistant Treasurer of Australia, announced the signing of TIEA agreements with The Cayman Islands, The Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Monaco, and the Turks and Caicos Islands. With the signing ceremonies complete, the TIEAs will be implemented upon the completion of legal ratification by both signatories. The new agreements ... Read More

An agreement has been reached by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Council of Europe to amend the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (CMAAT). On April 6th the OECD and Council of Europe released a media statement announcing that the CMAAT will be updated in order to bring it up to currently agreed upon standards of international tax transparency. The Convention, opened for signing in 1988, is an international framework which provides facilitation of multinational exchange ... Read More

The Governments of New Zealand and Hong Kong have signed a Closer Economic Partnership (CEP) agreement and engaged to begin negotiations for a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) in October. The Hong Kong Government showed its continued commitment to meeting international standards on taxation transparency and forming closer economic ties with economies worldwide by announcing on the March 29th the signing of its first CEP agreement outside of mainland China, and intentions to begin negotiations for a future DTA agreement with New Zealand. The ... Read More

Hong Kong is heralding a new era of taxation transparency and cooperation, having signed three bilateral tax agreements and provided definite indications that it intends to amass the 12 required to be warranted a place on the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation’s (OECD) list of nations adequately implementing international tax standards. The Hong Kong Government began the week with the signing of three separate Comprehensive Agreements for the Avoidance of Double Taxation (CDTA) with the Netherlands, Brunei and Indonesia. The signings, combined ... Read More

The international fight against cross-border tax evasion has taken a step forward with the initiation of a peer review group which aims to assess the progress made by nations in implementing internationally agreed standards of tax transparency. On March 18th the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) announced the initiation of the first step in the most extensive and through international tax transparency assesment process that has ever been undertaken. Eighteen nations from the 91 participating members of the Global Forum on ... Read More

The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has announced that from March 2010 it will begin to monitor its member states’ implementation of the newly established Good Practice Guidance on Internal Controls, Ethics and Compliance, the most comprehensive international business anti-bribery guidelines ever released by the organization. On March 3rd the OECD announced that the 38 member-nations of the OECD's Anti-Bribery Convention will begin to monitor the progress of participating jurisdictions in encouraging international businesses to adapt the anti-bribery measures. The newly ... Read More