Global Forum Secretariat’s ever-growing capacity-building efforts deliver concrete results for members

22/02/2024 – Published today, the 2024 Global Forum Capacity Building Report details the capacity-building and outreach activities carried out in 2023 by the Secretariat of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for tax Purposes (Global Forum). This important work supports the global implementation of the tax transparency standards, especially the exchange of information on request (EOIR) and the automatic exchange of financial account information (AEOI).

The very encouraging developments highlighted in the report show member jurisdictions are not only making important, and sometimes rapid, progress in the fight against tax evasion and other illicit financial flows, but also reaping the rewards of their commitments and efforts through improved domestic resource mobilisation. Globally, developing countries have reported identifying at least EUR 41 billion additional resources through voluntary disclosure programmes and offshore tax investigations since 2009.

“I am pleased to witness that, again in 2023, the Global Forum capacity-building programme was conducive to concrete improvements and enhanced the ability of our members to foster domestic resource mobilisation and fight illicit financial flows,” said Gaël Perraud, Chair of the Global Forum.

Through regional initiatives tailored to the needs and challenges faced by Global Forum members in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Pacific, bilateral technical support, and new editions of the flagship programmes Train the Trainer and Women Leaders in Tax Transparency, the Global Forum Secretariat’s multipronged efforts enabled major changes and benefits for member jurisdictions across the globe:

5 countries joined the Global Forum in 2023: Angola, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Fiji, Sierra Leone and Zimbabwe.
46 female tax professionals participated in the first two editions of the Women Leaders in Tax Transparency programme.
71 developing countries members of the Global Forum participated in the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC) by the end of 2023.

91 jurisdictions received bilateral technical support in 2023, including 75 developing countries, which were provided with a more extensive support.
124 jurisdictions, including 48 developing members, were committed to automatic exchange of financial accounts information by a specific date by the end of 2023.
More than 6 000 tax officials (including 46% female) from 65 jurisdictions have been successfully trained on the exchange of information for tax purposes by the 186 participants in the Train the Trainer programme between 2021 and 2023.
More than 9 500 tax officials were trained through the Secretariat’s capacity-building programme in 2023.

The Global Forum is the leading multilateral body mandated to ensure that jurisdictions around the world adhere to and effectively implement both the standard of transparency and exchange of information on request and the standard of automatic exchange of financial account information. These objectives are achieved through a robust monitoring and peer review process. The Global Forum also runs an extensive capacity-building programme to support its members in implementing the standards and help tax authorities make the best use of cross-border information sharing channels.

The Global Forum capacity-building programme is supported by the following development partners:

For more information, please contact gftaxcooperation@oecd.org.