The Chief Minister of Jersey, Senator Ian Gorst, has joined representatives of more than 60 jurisdictions at the OECD headquarters in Paris for the signing of a multilateral convention to implement tax treaty-related measures to prevent base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).
The multilateral instrument (MLI) will modify existing bilateral tax agreements to make them BEPS-compliant, allowing Jersey to strengthen its tax treaty network without the need for costly and time-consuming bilateral negotiations.
The MLI was developed through negotiations involving more than 100 countries and jurisdictions, under a mandate delivered by G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors at their February 2015 meeting.
Jersey became a BEPS Associate and Member of the BEPS Inclusive Framework at its inaugural meeting on 16 June 2016. As a BEPS Associate, Jersey is able to contribute to the development of the project on an equal footing with the OECD, G20 and many other countries and jurisdictions.
The Chief Minister commented: “I am delighted to have joined with jurisdictions from around the world in signing the MLI. In doing so we have further demonstrated our position in complying with international standards on financial regulation, anti-money laundering and tax transparency and information exchange."