After 15 years of sustained efforts to promote transparency and international co-operation in the fight against tax evasion, members of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum), gathering in Asunción, Paraguay, for its 17th Plenary meeting, marked the occasion with a major advance on the implementation of the recently developed Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework (CARF). The Plenary meeting was opened by an address from the President of the Republic of Paraguay, Mr Santiago Peña Palacios, and brought over 400 delegates from more than 110 jurisdictions and 13 international bodies together, to reflect on the latest collective achievements, discuss emerging challenges and chart the future of the Global Forum.
61 jurisdictions have already committed to implement the CARF to start exchanges by 2027 or 2028 at the latest, as part of the Global Forum’s CARF commitment process, extending the automatic exchange of tax information (EOI) to crypto assets. This includes the vast majority of crypto-asset centres identified by the Global Forum. Furthermore, 48 jurisdictions are expected to already begin to implement their commitment by signing the CARF Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement later today.
“The Global Forum remains committed to help jurisdictions tackle new and emerging challenges, ensuring that they are best equipped to effectively fight tax evasion and, in this regard, it is critical that all crypto-centres implement the CARF in order to ensure it is effective and delivers a level playing field,” said Gaël Perraud, Chair of the Global Forum.
The list of jurisdictions that have so far committed to implement the CARF as part of the Global Forum’s CARF commitment process can be found below.
Global Forum members have agreed to implement the amendments to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) on AEOI in relation to financial accounts, in time to commence exchanges under the amended CRS by 2027, with appropriate transitional arrangements where needed. These amendments will widen the scope of the CRS exchanges and improve its effectiveness and usability. In combination with the introduction of the CARF, they ensure that tax transparency and exchange of information framework is fit for the future. These new initiatives build upon and complement the Global Forum’s success and experiences in implementing the transparency and exchange of information on request (EOIR) and AEOI standards worldwide.
Published today, the latest 2024 Global Forum annual report details the scale of global tax co-operation, with continued and remarkable impact:
- More than EUR 130 billion of additional revenues (tax, interest and penalties) have been identified so far, thanks to voluntary disclosure programmes, similar initiatives and offshore tax investigations.
- Information on 134 million financial accounts, representing almost EUR 12 trillion total assets, was automatically exchanged last year.
- 125 jurisdictions reported making use of EOIR in 2023 and more than 28 970 requests for information were made to support ongoing tax investigations.
- 111 jurisdictions had commenced automatic exchanges of financial account information in 2024, and this number is set to reach at least 126 by 2027.
- The Global Forum Secretariat provided support to 100 jurisdictions in 2024, the highest figure since the launch of its capacity-building programme in 2011.
The Global Forum is the leading multilateral body mandated to ensure that jurisdictions around the world adhere to and effectively implement both the standard on transparency and exchange of information on request and the standard of automatic exchange of 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.
Jurisdictions that have so far committed to implement the CARF in time to commence exchanges in 2027 or 2028 as part of the Global Forum’s CARF commitment process:
Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, Canada, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Guernsey, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jersey, Korea, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Türkiye, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States of America.
