Punta del Este Declaration - A call to strengthen action against tax evasion and corruption

+++ The next meeting of the Punta del Este Declaration will be held in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, on 30-31 May 2024 +++

CONTEXT

In November 2018, ministers and deputy ministers of Latin American member countries met on the margin of the Global Forum plenary meeting held in Punta del Este, Uruguay, to discuss how best to use exchange of information to fight tax fraud and corruption. As a conclusion of the meeting, the Punta del Este Declaration was signed. Signatories agreed to lead by example in tackling illicit financial flows through increased international tax co-operation. Concrete steps to tackle tax evasion and other financial crimes were included in the Declaration, such as:

establish a Latin American Initiative to maximise the effective use of information exchanged under the international tax transparency standards to tackle tax evasion, corruption and other financial crimes.
explore further means of co-operation, through channels such as the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and the OECD’s Latin America Academy for Tax and Financial Crime Investigation, and effective and real-time access to beneficial ownership information.
agree to establish National Action Plans to further co-operation objectives, and have representatives report on progress made at Global Forum's next plenary meeting.

In November 2019, a ministerial meeting hosted by the Secretary General of the OECD was held in advance of the Global Forum's 10th anniversary plenary meeting. It marked the first anniversary of the Declaration and provided ministers and high-level officials from signatory jurisdictions with an opportunity to reflect on progress made since the adoption of the Declaration, present their National Action Plans to implement their commitments, and discuss next steps for closer regional co-operation to increase tax transparency and tackle tax evasion. Participants agreed to hold a high-level meeting in the second half of 2020 at which they would report back on the actions contained in their National Action Plans and explore further how to implement the objectives of the Declaration. Members now meet twice a year to reflect and further accelerate progress on all work streams.

SIGNATORIES, PROGRESS REPORT AND GOVERNANCE

The progress report Tax Transparency in Latin America was first published in July 2021. The report, the first of its kind dedicated to the issue of tax transparency in Latin America, is a key output of the Punta del Este Declaration. It will be published annually to inform decision makers and citizens on where the region stands, and the concrete progress made by Latin American countries on tax transparency.

Mr Oscar Orué Ortiz, Vice Minister of Taxation, Under-Secretariat of State for Taxation of Paraguay, currently chairs the Latin America Initiative and Mr Luis Carlos Reyes Hernández, Director General, National Directorate of Taxes and Customs of Colombia, serves as Vice-chair.

PILOT PROJECT ON THE WIDER USE OF INFORMATION EXCHANGED THROUGH THE CONVENTION ON MUTUAL ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANCE IN TAX MATTERS

When signing the Punta Del Este Declaration, Latin American countries agreed to tackle illicit financial flows beyond tax evasion and explore the use of information provided through exchange of tax information channels for other purposes, such as the fight against money laundering, corruption and other financial crimes, as permitted under the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (Convention) and domestic laws.

The Latin America Initiative developed a framework for a pilot project on the implementation of the wider use of the information exchanged between interested countries in the region. It includes two draft agreements: the first one between competent authorities, and the second one between the tax administration and the other domestic law enforcement agencies for which the treaty-exchanged information would be useful. To properly ensure that the treaty-exchanged information is handled and used in accordance with the Convention's confidentiality provisions, the framework also includes a series of trainings for tax and non-tax law enforcement agencies on confidentiality and data safeguards.

The development and implementation of these agreements and trainings are being carried out through a pilot project to which currently participate six Latin American countries. The pilot was joined by Argentina, Costa Rica and Paraguay in November 2022, Brazil and Colombia in June 2023, and the Dominican Republic in November 2023.