OECD awards Jersey top marks for tax transparency

Monday 20 November 2017

Jersey has been given the highest possible rating by the OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information on Tax Matters, the international body responsible for assessing jurisdictions’ compliance with global standards on tax transparency and information exchange.

Jersey was rated 'fully compliant' in all ten of the areas reviewed, placing the Island in the top band of countries who have completed both phases of the OECD review process, and a higher rating than that achieved by several major G20 economies.

Jersey was last reviewed in 2014, when it was found to be “largely compliant."  The island has improved its ratings in four areas focusing on the way in which it deals with requests for tax information from other jurisdictions, to give it a “fully compliant” rating all round.

The Chief Minister, Senator Ian Gorst, said: “I welcome the OECD’s Global Forum’s recognition that Jersey is fully committed to the highest standards of tax transparency and cooperation with international standards. At a time when transparency is more important than ever, Jersey continues to demonstrate its steadfast commitment to international cooperation.”

Senator Alan Maclean, Minister for Treasury and Resources, said: “This rating reflects the hard work done across all levels of government and regulators to ensure that Jersey has not just signed up to international standards, but has put them into practice in every area.”

Geoff Cook, CEO of Jersey Finance, said: “This is an unequivocal endorsement both of Jersey’s world class tax transparency framework and its ability to make sure that this framework is working well in practice. The Global Forum’s second round of reviews is a rigorous assessment, so for Jersey to have been found to be entirely compliant in every single area is a fantastic achievement, underlining our commitment to combatting financial crime and tax abuse.

“Jersey now sits right at the very top globally in terms of standards of tax transparency, alongside a select group of less than ten other countries worldwide who have undergone this second round of reviews and ahead of most EU and G20 nations including the UK, USA, Germany, Australia, Luxembourg and Canada. This is a real differentiator for Jersey and sends out a strong message that Jersey is serious about tax transparency, whilst also serving to reinforce just how unjustifiable the claims sometimes made against Jersey’s position on tax transparency really are.”