Brussels, 13/06/2013 (Agence Europe) - The president of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, and the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Angel Gurria, say that the two bodies are working in complementary ways to establish international standards for the exchange of tax information.
In terms of the fight against fraud and tax evasion, the OECD is a “key partner” for the European Commission, said Barroso on Thursday 13 June, after a meeting with the Mexican leader of the OECD. Barroso explained that, on Wednesday, he had suggested extending the exchange of bank account information to cover new categories of income (dividends, capital gains, profits on the sale of shares and bank account balances) held by European taxpayers in other member states (see EUROPE 10865). Gurria said this area was clearly one where the two bodies could work well together. He said that the G20 had given him the mandate to explore the question of multinational companies that often wriggle quite legally out of paying taxes by making use of tax havens (see EUROPE 10832). The OECD has also been asked to report on progress in the G20 nations in complying with the multilateral convention on administrative aid in tax matters. (MB/transl.fl)