Two reports released since the beginning of May have examined and addressed key issues for offshore financial centres such as the Cayman Islands.
Released on 1 May, the first report titled "Assessing the Playing Field - International Cooperation in Tax Information Exchange" was a study undertaken by Camille Stoll-Davey of Oxford University for the International Trade and Investment Organisation (ITIO) and published by the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Based on an analysis of objective data compiled by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the report finds that in crucial areas such as willingness to exchange tax information or to identify who is behind companies or trusts, OECD member countries do not operate to a higher standard than so-called offshore centres, and in some areas fall short.
CIFSA director, Mr Eduardo D'Angelo P. Silva said the report highlighted the widespread failure of large countries to adhere to the same tax standards that they themselves lay down for offshore financial centres.
"The findings of this report support what those of us in the financial services industry in offshore jurisdictions already know - that regulatory standards in offshore financial centres are on par with, and in some cases are even superior to, those of so called 'onshore' jurisdictions such as the UK and US," Mr Silva said.
"Offshore financial centers such as Cayman often lead the way in their compliance with regulations set by such bodies as the OECD and FATF however their involvement in the creation of such standards is limited," he said. "Moving forward countries of all sizes need to be represented at the outset in the development of these regulations to ensure a level playing field and fair competition between small countries and larger nations."
"It's important that the global financial services industry does not loose sight of the larger picture which is for us to come together to combat criminal and terrorist financing and tax evasion," Mr Silva said.
In an introduction to the report, Mr Ransford Smith, Deputy Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat said "the issue of double taxation and tax information exchange agreements needs to be addressed by the development of a methodology that recognizes the divergence in tax structures across jurisdictions and allows all countries to utilize the same tools."
The second study released on 9 May by the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation (CF&P Foundation) and written by Mr Daniel J. Mitchell aims to debunk the mistruths and inaccurate information surrounding low-tax jurisdictions in the global economy.
The study, titled "Tax Havens: Myth versus Reality" examines and addresses 10 key "myths" and according to Mr Andrew Quinlan, President of the CF&P Foundation, is a tutorial for policy makers interested in learning the truth about so-called "tax havens".
Mr Eric Crutchley, CIFSA director said "studies such as this one help to highlight the role that low-tax jurisdictions play in the global economy and help remove some of the mistruths and stereotypes of offshore financial centres that are still being fostered in novels and movies."
"Assessing the Playing Field - International Cooperation in Tex Information Exchange" can be obtained from the Commonwealth Secretariat, price GBP10. See http://publications.thecommonwealth.org/publications/html/pub_details.asp
"Tax Havens: Myth versus Reality" can be obtained from the Center for Freedom and Prosperity Foundation. See http://www.freedomandprosperity.org/Papers/th-myths/th-myths.pdf