The Global Forum of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has rated Gibraltar’s government as “largely compliant” for transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.
This classification recognises Gibraltar’s solid track record in international tax cooperation and compliance, placing it on par with leading global economies including the UK and Germany and giving international businesses added incentive to operate from the jurisdiction.
The forum’s Phase 2 peer review report on Gibraltar examined 10 essential elements of the jurisdiction’s record in exchange of information.
Gibraltar was rated “largely compliant” in three areas and “compliant” in the remaining seven.
No elements were found to be non-compliant, highlighting the strength of Gibraltar’s approach to corporate tax transparency.
The rating comes at a time when Gibraltar is strengthening its wider culture of compliance and transparency and continuing to fight tax evasion and fraud.
To this end, chief minister Fabian Picardo signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (MCAA) at the Federal Ministry of Finance in Berlin.
Gibraltar, along with approximately 57 countries, has committed to the automatic exchange of information under the MCAA in 2017 and a further 31 countries have extended a similar commitment with an exchange trigger date of 2018.
Picardo said: “Today’s news underscores Gibraltar’s absolute commitment to a culture of compliance with international standards of transparency and reflects our continued emphasis on offering companies a stable environment in which to thrive.”
“Gibraltar is a leader when it comes to compliance with modern standards of internationally established frameworks, in particular those within the EU, which is among the most rigorous in the world, making it the perfect home for international business."
Albert Isola, Gibraltar’s minister for financial services, added: “Independent reviews by multilateral bodies such as the OECD Global Forum provide us with entirely credible third party assessments of international cooperation and compliance.”
“The months of work by officials from various departments of the government and other agencies have resulted in further strengthening Gibraltar’s position as one of the most transparent and compliant jurisdictions in the world.”
