David Cameron has put the issues of tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance at the centre of the 39th G8, which will be held in Northern Ireland, and makes a pledge in the letter to “knock down the walls of company secrecy” and ensure that the Government is aware of “who really owns and controls each and every company”.
In the letter he stated that he wanted Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies to continue to work in partnership with the UK in taking the lead on two critical issues: tax information exchange and beneficial ownership.
Cameron said that, while he welcomed commitments the recipients of the letter had made to automatic tax information exchange, he hoped more territories would follow the lead the UK and Europe are setting by joining the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters.
“We need to ensure information exchange works effectively for all, particularly the poorest countries of the world.
“That is why we strongly support the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters. I know many of you have been considering joining and I ask you all to commit to do so in the run-up to the G8 Summit.”
Cameron also made it clear that he wanted more territories to lay out their public commitments on paper and in detail by producing Action Plans on beneficial ownership because “tax evasion is not just about exchanging information”. He added that getting the right content in these plans would be critical.
“These [Action Plans] will need to provide for fully resourced and properly managed centralised registries, that are freely available to law enforcement and tax collectors, and contain full and accurate details on the true ownership and control of each and every country.”
The recipients of the letter are the leaders of: Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Gibraltar, Anguilla, Montserrat, Turks and Caicos Islands, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.
Cameron said there was a “critical mass building” for anti avoidance and evasion, and singled out the EU for praise, following its support on tax issues raised during last week’s European Finance Ministers meeting.
The letter ends by inviting all leaders to the G8 meeting on 15 June to showcase their progress on tax, trade and transparency.
