Ireland signs OECD convention to fight offshore tax evasion

IRELAND has further tightened up its offshore tax evasion protection by signing up to the Joint Council of Europe/OECD multilateral convention on mutual administrative assistance in tax matters.

The convention — to which Ireland is the 21st country to sign — is aimed at fighting offshore tax evasion and avoidance and gives countries a platform from which to exchange information on tax matters.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance Brian Hayes signed the convention for Ireland at a ceremony in the OECD’s headquarters in Paris at the end of last week. Speaking after the event, Mr Hayes said that it represents another important milestone for Ireland, coming not long after the publication — last January — of the Global Forum Peer Review Report on Transparency and Exchange of Information, which found that Ireland was fully compliant under all categories assessed.

“Ireland is universally recognised as being fully compliant with both EU and OECD standards in terms of its open, fair and transparent tax system. The signing of this multilateral Convention will only bolster our international reputation in that regard,” Mr Hayes added.

“The Convention was amended to open it to all countries, at the request of the G20, which is now encouraging jurisdictions to join.” added Jeffrey Owens, director of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration.

The Revenue Commissioners has been successful in generating yields from bogus non-resident accounts in recent years, but the convention will give further basis for a wide range of inter-governmental administrative assistance between states.