Wall Street Journal and European Policy
Forum criticise OECD
Every day brings new developments in the OECD saga as it
gains the attention of the financial world throughout this global
village of ours. Two days ago, Wednesday's editorial of the Wall
Street Journal (Europe) had this to say: Europe has mounted
an intense propaganda campaign aided by the Paris-based Organization
for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which is pursuing
a parallel harmful tax competition initiative. The European Union
supporters of information exchange often refer to their target
as money launderers. This is not just stretching the truth, but
turning it on its ear. It's not cocaine traffickers they are
worried about, but their own citizens. When tax burdens approach
60 percent of income, people flee for their lives.
On Wednesday, Graham Mather, President, European Policy Forum,
pointed out that the OECD's initiative against harmful tax competition
is being criticised for failing to meet reasonable international
standards of accountability, transparency and Parliamentary and
judicial oversight. It has opaque adoption procedures and risks
unfair and unequal enforcement. He noted that this is one of
the findings of a report published this week by the European
Policy Forum, a cross party think tank based in London and Brussels.
The report further noted that the plan, designed to oblige low
tax countries to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the
OECD with a deadline of July 2001 is a clear example of pseudo-law
being created without the scrutiny to which national laws are
subject and it shows sanctions being applied to non-signatory
states without any right of appeal to a tribunal on findings
of fact or interpretation
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