11
May 2001
ITIO welcomes O'Neill statement, wants equal involvement
for SDEs in setting tax standards
Following a meeting in London on 9-11 May of the International
Tax and Investment Organisation (ITIO), which comprises
twelve small and developing economies (SDEs), Lynette
Eastmond, Director of the ITIO Secretariat, said:
"We
are encouraged by the statement from United States
Treasury Secretary O'Neill on the OECD's 'harmful
tax competition initiative'. In particular, we support
the strong position taken by the U.S. Government against
criminal tax evasion.
"Like
the US, we believe in rules that do not stifle competition.
"We
also share Secretary O'Neill's concern about potentially
unfair treatment of non-OECD countries. We believe
that all countries, OECD and non-OECD alike, should
play by the same rules, and that standards should
be developed in a truly inclusive international forum
that involves everyone.
"We
hope and expect that the refocusing of the OECD process
will lead to the involvement by right of ITIO members
and other small and developing economies as equal
participants in setting any new international taxation
standards."
For
further information, please contact Ben Coleman
(Tel. +44 20 7526 3603, + 44 7958 616 444)
EXPLANATORY
NOTE
•On
10 May 2001, Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill issued
a statement about the OECD's "harmful tax competition
initiative", saying, "The work of this particular
OECD initiative…must be refocused on the core
element that is our common goal: the need for countries
to be able to obtain specific information from other
countries upon request in order to prevent the illegal
evasion of their tax laws by the dishonest few. In
its current form, the project is too broad and it
is not in line with this Administration's tax and
economic priorities."
Return
to News Releases
