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Belize faces prospect of G20 sanctions over tax information
February 8, 2010
Development could politically embarrass Conservatives, whose donor is chairman of country's biggest bank.
Belize could be hit with economic sanctions by G20 nations for failing to abide by international tax information sharing protocols. The move could prove uncomfortable to Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative party's largest donor, who is also chairman of the tiny Central American country's biggest bank.
A senior Whitehall source told The Observer that discussions at this month's G20 finance ministers meeting in South Korea would include the strong likelihood of the introduction of sanctions on countries which have not abided by an initiative from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to force tax havens to sign information-sharing agreements.
All countries are required to sign 12 international tax information-sharing agreements. Belize has only agreed one with Belgium, signed late last year.
Other countries that could face sanctions include Panama, Guatemala and the Philippines, although Jeffrey Owens, the director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, last month suggested that, unlike Belize, "they were actively in the process of negotiating".
Original Posting At: TheGuardian
Belize could be hit with economic sanctions by G20 nations for failing to abide by international tax information sharing protocols. The move could prove uncomfortable to Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative party's largest donor, who is also chairman of the tiny Central American country's biggest bank.
A senior Whitehall source told The Observer that discussions at this month's G20 finance ministers meeting in South Korea would include the strong likelihood of the introduction of sanctions on countries which have not abided by an initiative from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to force tax havens to sign information-sharing agreements.
All countries are required to sign 12 international tax information-sharing agreements. Belize has only agreed one with Belgium, signed late last year.
Other countries that could face sanctions include Panama, Guatemala and the Philippines, although Jeffrey Owens, the director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, last month suggested that, unlike Belize, "they were actively in the process of negotiating".
Original Posting At: TheGuardian
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