Mexico and Rwanda join regional initiatives for tax transparency
Mexico and Rwanda have joined the Punta del Este Declaration and Yaoundé Declaration respectively, adding their voices to these important regional initiatives for tax transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.
Initially signed by four ministers from Latin American countries in November 2018, the Punta del Este Declaration is a call for action to strengthen the region’s efforts against tax evasion and other financial crimes, such as corruption and money laundering.
With Mexico’s adhesion, the Declaration now counts 14 signatories. The work and progress of this initiative are reflected in the Tax Transparency in Latin America annual report. A key output of the Declaration, the publication informs decision makers and citizens on where the region stands, and shows concrete progress made by Latin American countries on tax transparency.
The Yaoundé Declaration, originally signed by four countries in November 2017, encouraged the African Union to begin a high-level discussion on tax co-operation and illicit financial flows (IFFs) and their link to domestic resource mobilisation.
Four years later, with Rwanda’s support, 31 African ministers of finance and the African Union Commission now back the Declaration.
The goal is to ensure that African countries take ownership of the tax transparency agenda and promote it to serve the continent’s interests in fighting tax evasion and IFFs, thus enhancing domestic resource mobilisation. The Africa Initiative annual progress report, Tax Transparency in Africa, published since 2019, highlights developments and points to remaining challenges.
The Global Forum is the leading multilateral body mandated to ensure that jurisdictions around the world adhere to and effectively implement both the standard of transparency and exchange of information on request and the standard of automatic exchange of financial account information. These objectives are achieved through a robust monitoring and peer review process. The Global Forum also runs an extensive capacity-building programme to support its members in implementing the standards and help tax authorities make the best use of cross-border information sharing channels.
For more information, please contact gftaxcooperation@oecd.org.
