OECD Global Forum Achieves Gains in Automatic and on Request Information

On October 29, 2014, at a meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in Berlin, Germany, the 51 jurisdictions promised to work towards starting the first tax information exchanges by September 2017 during a joint signing of a Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement.  The latter activates automatic exchange of information, based on the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. The Global Forum also strengthened the requirements for exchange of information on request and promised increased support to developing countries through facilitating their participation in automatic exchange of information (AEOI) and the start of the Africa Initiative.