Gibraltar Retains Second-Highest OECD Rank On Tax Information Exchange
Gibraltar has achieved a rating of ‘Largely Compliant’ in an independent review of tax information exchange, conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This retains Gibraltar’s position alongside leading jurisdictions including the UK, US, Germany and Spain.
A statement from ISOLAS LLP follows below:
The Peer Review analyses the implementation of the international standard of transparency and exchange of information on request in Gibraltar. It assesses both the legal and regulatory framework as of 30 April 2020, and the practical implementation of this framework, notably concerning Exchange of Information (EOI) requests.
The overall score is based on the ratings achieved in 10 different areas. Gibraltar achieved the highest score in four of these, including:
- The rights and safeguards of individuals in an EOI context (i.e. the rights of individuals to be notified of and to appeal decisions concerning the exchange of information relating to them),
- The mechanisms Gibraltar has in place to facilitate EOI,
- the network of EOI mechanisms that Gibraltar has with other jurisdictions, and
- The rights and safeguards which Gibraltar has in place to protect tax payers and third parties and which ensure, among other things, that no information is exchanged that should be protected as a trade, industrial or commercial secret or which is subject to attorney-client privilege or which would be contrary to public policy.
Gibraltar was commended for addressing recommendations made in the previous report from 2014, including the introduction of sanctions against non-maintenance of accounting records by partnerships and trusts, and improving compliance in the balancing of access powers with taxpayer rights. Gibraltar was also commended for extending its international EOI network, and specific mention was made of the introduction of a new Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the Isle of Man, and a Double Tax Convention (DTC) with the UK, which bolsters Gibraltar’s network of relationships.
The recommendations for improvement are centered largely around the increase in international standards introduced since the 2014 report, namely in 2016. It was noted that Gibraltar had made significant progress in these areas, although the continuing evolution of international standards means that Gibraltar will need to continue to develop, as it has been doing, in these areas in order to retain its high ratings going forward.
Overall, the report highlights Gibraltar’s commitment to complying with international tax transparency, further cementing its reputation as an internationally-cooperative jurisdiction.
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo QC MP, thanked the Finance Centre Department and Income Tax Office for their contribution over the last decade, acknowledging that the Gibraltar competent authorities’ “labour-intensive” but “accomplished” task has helped to further consolidate Gibraltar’s solid reputation, notably in terms of transparency and the exchange of information for tax purposes.
Minister for Financial Services, Albert Isola added: “This report confirms the findings of 2014, that Gibraltar is ‘Largely Compliant’, on a par with four major nations, that I am very pleased with and we should all be proud of.”
Adrian Pilcher, partner at ISOLAS LLP, said: “Once again, Gibraltar has secured its position as a jurisdiction of choice, thanks to our high standards and robust regulation, as the jurisdiction’s appeal for both residents and businesses continues to grow. As Gibraltar’s oldest law firm, and a trusted partner to many, we will continue to work with industry and Government to ensure that the high standards which have earned us this accreditation are preserved and, where possible, improved.”
