OECD information-sharing plan seeks to crack down on global tax evasion

Governments would automatically share information on taxpayers’ offshore bank and brokerage accounts with foreign tax authorities, under a draft agreement published yesterday by the OECD.

At the request of the group of 20 biggest economic powers, the organisation devised the automatic exchange of financial information so that tax evaders would have no room to hide when they stashed cash in foreign accounts.

So far, 42 countries have indicated they want to use the standard for reporting financial information to foreign governments, the OECD’s tax policy director, Pascal Saint-Amans, told reporters. Among them are Britain, France, Germany and Italy.