Minister Brown not transparent over transparency meeting
Finance Minister Hon Mark Brown attended a conference in Bermuda in June 2011 on Transparency but his attendance, what was discussed and the benefits to the nation were not disclosed for some unknown reason.
The Times has obtained a copy of an OECD report on the meeting and a brief outline of it is set out below.
“On 31 May and 1 June 2011, 227 delegates from 85 members and 9 international organisations and regional groups came together at the third meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) hosted by Bermuda (Annex 1 provides a list of participants at the meeting). They welcomed the remarkable progress since 2009 in implementing the standards on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes through in-depth monitoring and peer reviews and speeding up the process of negotiating agreements.
The Global Forum affirmed the importance of providing technical assistance related to transparency and exchange of information to developing countries and small jurisdictions so that they can benefit from the new transparent tax environment. The Global Forum also took note of the progress achieved on the multilateral negotiation of bilateral agreements and acknowledged the updated Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters as a useful instrument to promote effective tax co-operation.
With its 101 jurisdictions, the Global Forum now comprises more than half of the world, with increasing interest from developing and emerging economies in its work. The rapid expansion of membership of the Global Forum, especially among developing countries, reaffirms the relevance of the Global Forum’s work to developing countries and the potential benefits developing countries can derive from its work.
The Global Forum reaffirmed the importance of providing technical assistance related to transparency and exchange of information to developing countries and small jurisdictions as a means of ensuring that these jurisdictions benefit from the new transparent environment and also ensuring the implementation of the international standard on a global basis.
The Global Forum will continue its work on the peer reviews and follow-up reports as scheduled. It will also develop guidelines on coordinating and delivering technical assistance on transparency and exchange of information issues where such assistance is requested and appropriate.
The Global Forum decided to meet in October 2011 in France.”
It is not known if Minister Brown has already signaled his readiness to attend.

-Charles Pitt

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