BRITISH TERRITORIES DON'T PLAN TO ENDORSE OECD TAX CRACKDOWN

Tax Notes International/Tax Analysts, 14 May 2001 (summary)

By Cordia Scott

Four British territories blacklisted by the OECD as tax havens do not plan to write a joint statement endorsing the OECD's international crackdown, despite a recent Financial Times story to the contrary.

Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, Montserrat, and the Turks and Caicos Islands, have, indeed, discussed the OECD's June 2000 report, in which it labels them and 31 other low-tax jurisdictions as having "harmful" tax and investment policies, a source close to the jurisdictions said in an interview with Tax Analysts. "They're not just talking among themselves, they are part of a larger group of jurisdictions talking-and they have no intention, they've made no plans to sign up soon," he said.

Robert Mathavious, director of financial services for the British Virgin Islands' government, also took issue with the Financial Times report. He published a letter in the 7 May edition of the newspaper to clarify the position of all of the British Caribbean overseas territories on the OECD's list.

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