21/10/2015 - Keeping tax transparency high on the agenda of Governments and taking steps to ensure a worldwide level playing field will top the agenda during the 8th meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, in Bridgetown, Barbados on 29-30 October 2015.

The Global Forum is the world’s largest network for international cooperation in the field of taxation and financial information exchange, bringing together 129 countries and jurisdictions plus the European Union. The Forum’s 8th meeting will bring together more than 200 delegates for discussions on new steps to accelerate international cooperation against tax evasion.

A number of peer review reports will be published during the meeting:

• Phase 1 reports, assessing the legal and regulatory framework for transparency in Azerbaijan, Gabon, Romania and Senegal.
• Phase 2 reports, assessing the practical implementation of the legal framework in Colombia, Costa Rica, Latvia, Liechtenstein and Samoa.
• Supplementary Phase 1 reports for Brunei Darussalam, Dominica, Guatemala and Panama.
• Supplementary Phase 2 reports for Cyprus, Luxembourg and Seychelles.

Global Forum members will also discuss key developments in the areas of exchange of information on request as well as automatic exchange of information, the Global Forum’s future work plans and how developing countries can maximise the benefits from technical assistance provided by the Global Forum.

Journalists are invited to participate in the following events:

Opening and Welcome Address

When: Thursday, 29 October 2015 from 9.00 to 9.20 am (local time)
Who: The Rt. Hon. Freundel Stuart, Prime Minister of Barbados and Mr. Kosie Louw, Chair of the Global Forum
Where: Hilton Barbados Resort, Needham's Point, St. Michael BB11000, Barbado


Signing ceremony on the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement

When: Thursday, 29 October 2015 from 6.00 to 6.30 pm (local time)
Who: Barbados, Belize, Bulgaria, Grenada, Japan, Marshall Islands, Niue, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Lucia and Samoa.
Where: Hilton Barbados Resort, Needham's Point, St. Michael BB11000, Barbados

Global Forum Closing Press Conference

When: Friday, 30 October 2015 from 5.00 to 5.30 pm (local time)
Who: Donville Inniss, Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Barbados, Kosie Louw, Chair of the Global Forum, Monica Bhatia, Head of the Global Forum Secretariat and Pascal Saint-Amans, Director, OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration
Where: Hilton Barbados Resort, Needham's Point, St. Michael BB11000, Barbados

For further information, contact OECD Media Officer Lawrence Speer in the OECD Media Office (+33 1 4524 9700) or Jeremy Maddison, Global Forum press officer (+33 6 13 77 35 10).

Working with over 100 countries, the OECD is a global policy forum that promotes policies to improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.