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Strategies & Market Trends : rat's nest -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: SIer formerly known as Joe B. who wrote (167)	1/8/2001 12:28:43 PM
From: AugustWest	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 844

Offshore havens meet with rich countries to discuss 'harmful' tax practices ST. MICHAEL, Barbados, Jan 08, 2001 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- Under attack by rich countries that want to recover billions of dollars lost to tax evaders, small countries singled out as secretive offshore tax havens met with their critics Monday in an effort to protect their lucrative banking industries. Officials from about 40 countries and territories met behind closed doors to exchange views on what the Paris-based Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development - whose members are among the world's wealthiest nations - terms "harmful tax practices." The rich countries want the smaller countries to enact new laws and abide by certain standards that will not encourage tax evaders to stash their money in these countries, which have few or no taxes and have secrecy laws that prevent scrutiny of bank accounts. Caribbean leaders, whose countries have many of the richest tax havens in the world, are asking: harmful to whom? They say the world's developed countries are trying to take away revenues from small islands with fragile economies. "Those who gain market share call it exploiting the competitive advantage. And those who lose call it harmful," Prime Minister Owen Arthur of Barbados said in an opening address. Arthur, however, also urged dialogue in an effort to reach common ground. "It is only through consensus-building and cooperative action among states that we will arrive at norms and practices that are universally accepted and applied, and can eradicate activities that are patently illegal," Arthur said. Barbados is one of 15 Caribbean countries on a list of 35 alleged tax havens blacklisted in July by the OECD. Twenty-six of the territories on the list are associated with the Commonwealth of Britain and its former and current colonies. No one knows how much money is involved, but Britain estimated last year that it loses dlrs 1.6 billion a year to tax avoiders. "Many Commonwealth members take issue with the actions of the OECD in challenging the right of non-member states to manage their domestic sovereign tax affairs," Commonwealth Secretary-General Don McKinnon told more than 100 delegates at the opening, to which reporters were invited. "We should not be afraid to identify areas where there are differences," he said. "Instead we should just agree to work together to bridge those differences." OECD Deputy Secretary-General Seiichi Kondo said the organization's recommendations are aimed at ensuring economic stability. "We are not trying to set minimum tax rates, or in any way to interfere with the legitimate concerns of individual citizens to protect and maintain their privacy," Kondo said. "What we want to defend are the interests of honest taxpayers in all countries around the world." The OECD - whose members include about 30 developed countries in Europe, North America, Asia and other regions - has urged countries and territories on the tax havens list to give commitments to cooperate in making changes by the end of July, said spokesman Nicholas Bray. The intent is to stop people and companies from illegally evading taxes by hiding behind secrecy laws, he said. "It's like somebody riding on a bus without paying for a ticket," Bray said. The countries on the list, he said, "can go on facilitating illicit tax evasion, or they can stop." Last year, a related organization called the Financial Action Task Force issued a list of 15 countries considered uncooperative in fighting money laundering. Five of the jurisdictions are in the Caribbean - the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Money laundering involves exchanging or investing funds earned from illegal activities such as drug trafficking to conceal the source and make the money appear legitimate. Money-laundering transactions are increasingly hard to detect because of the use of credit cards, Internet banking and other tools. Many Caribbean leaders, although disturbed by the outside judgments, are anxious to avoid the stigma, and a few have changed their laws to make them more open to foreign investigators since the blacklist was released. The United States and Britain issued advisories warning their banks to scrutinize transactions through blacklisted countries, and some islands have reported losing offshore banks since then. The United States and some other OECD member countries are threatening sanctions, which the organization calls "defensive measures," against governments that do not cooperate. By IAN JAMES Associated Press Writer Copyright 2001 Associated Press, All rights reserved -0- APO Priority=r (PROFILE (WS SL:BC-Caribbean-Tax Havens; CT:f; (REG:EURO;) (REG:BRIT;) (REG:SCAN;) (REG:ENGL;) (REG:MEST;) (REG:AFRI;) (REG:ASIA;) (LANG:ENGLISH;)) ) KEYWORD: ST. MICHAEL, Barbados AP Photos staffing * end of story *