Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs)

Not so long ago, the general view was that countries had no obligation to assist each other in the administration of their tax systems. Indeed, it was not considered particularly outrageous for countries to assist (for a fee) residents of a foreign country to avoid or even evade their taxes.

Those days are over. Although a consensus has not yet emerged on the full extent of a country's obligation to assist other countries in assessing and collecting taxes, there is a growing consensus that countries do have some obligation to prevent themselves from complicity in international fiscal fraud. The OECD succeeded, with its now antiquated TIEA of 2002, in gaining acceptance for the concept that bank secrecy could not be used to facilitate tax evasion. The OECD TIEA (2002) allowed only for infomration exchange on specific request and proved ineffective in practice. The new emerging standard is for automatic information exchange, plus strict "know your customer" rules (banks) and "know your shareholder" and "know your owner" rules (companies, partnerships, trusts, other legal bodies). Unfortunately, the OECD is still promoting its antiquated 2002 standard and has been blocking progress on meaningful reforms.