English
English
22/05/2023 – The Study Group on Asia-Pacific Tax Administration and Research (SGATAR) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) have joined the global fight against tax evasion by becoming the 22nd and 23rd observers of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) respectively.
“We are delighted to welcome SGATAR and AIIB as observers to the Global Forum,” said Gaël Perraud, Chair of the Global Forum. “Their commitments come at a time when the Global Forum welcomed three new members within a few months and further demonstrate the continuous attention of governments, international organisations and development partners for our activities and endeavours.”
As observers to the Global Forum, SGATAR and AIIB will participate in its plenary meetings and other major events. They will both contribute to the promotion of international information exchange as a powerful tool to tackle cross-border tax evasion and improve domestic resource mobilisation in Asia and beyond.
SGATAR was established in 1970 as an annual forum for tax administrators to enhance co-operation, improve administration and discuss related issues. Its activities have centred on aiding administrative reform through the sharing of information and insights in regard to specific tax issues. It is already partnering the Global Forum’s Asia Initiative and 16 of its 18 members are also members of the Global Forum.
The AIIB is a multilateral development bank focused on developing Asia, but with members from all over the world, its investments in infrastructure and other productive sectors seek to foster sustainable economic development, create wealth and improve infrastructure connectivity. It began operations in 2016 with 57 founding members. By the end of 2020, it had 103 approved members representing approximately 79 percent of the global population and 65 percent of global GDP.
The Global Forum is the leading multilateral body mandated to ensure that jurisdictions around the world adhere to and effectively implement both the standard of transparency and exchange of information on request and the standard of automatic exchange of financial account information. These objectives are achieved through a robust monitoring and peer review process. The Global Forum also runs an extensive capacity-building programme to support its members in implementing the standards and help tax authorities make the best use of cross-border information sharing channels.
For more information, please contact gftaxcooperation@oecd.org.
Note: The short descriptions of SGATAR and AIIB are adapted from their respective websites.
Related Documents
