05/11/2013 - OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed today Andorra’s steps to strengthen international tax co-operation, after it became the 60^th signatory to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

 

“Andorra has taken many positive steps towards greater tax transparency in the past four years,” Mr Gurría said after a ceremony at the OECD. “Today’s signing is an important signal that Andorra is seriously committed to the international fight against offshore tax avoidance and evasion.”   Mr. Gurría noted that the rapid increase in signatories to the Convention reflects the growing levels of international support for exchange of information on request, and foreshadows that automatic exchange of information will become the new international standard. The Multilateral Convention provides for all forms of mutual assistance: exchange on request, spontaneous exchange, tax examinations abroad, simultaneous tax examinations and assistance in tax collection, while protecting taxpayers’ rights. It also provides the option to undertake automatic exchange, requiring an agreement between the Parties interested in adopting this form of assistance.

Mr. Nicola Bonucci, Director, OECD Legal Directorate, Her Excellency Maria Ubach, Ambassador of Andorra to France and Mr. Pascal Saint-Amans, Director, Centre for Tax Policy and Administration at today’s signing ceremony. Photo: Herve Cortinat/OECD

 The Convention must now be ratified by the Principality of Andorra.

 

The 60  signatories to the Convention are: Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Belize, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Moldova, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States.

 

The following jurisdictions are also covered by the Convention through territorial extension by Denmark: the Faroe Islands and Greenland; by territorial extension by the Netherlands: Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten; and by territorial extension by the United Kingdom: the Cayman Islands, Montserrat and Turks and Caicos.

 

For more information, journalists should contact Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (CTPA) on + 33 6 26 30 49 23 or Grace Perez-Navarro, Deputy Director of the CTPA on +33 1 45 24 18 80.