Sharing Income Tax

The title doesn't mean income tax will be shared more equally in this country, but it means your income tax details may be shared with other countries who have signed up to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The United Kingdom signed this agreement in 1961.

A meeting was held in Mexico City last week under the auspices of the Paris-based OECD, whose implicit goal is to create a global high-tax cartel.

In order to create a global tax cartel, the OECD needs to have tax information shared among nations - which means that the citizen of any country that signs on to this scheme may have his or her tax information shared with other member jurisdictions. It has managed to get 87 jurisdictions to sign on to its global 'tax standard'. The high-tax countries (of which we are certainly one), are using the OECD to threaten low-tax jurisdictions to sign this agreement.

It's worth mentioning that the tax bullies at the OECD and at other international organisation, such as the United Nations, International Monetary Fund and World Bank, who demand that others pay higher taxes, enjoy tax-free personal income courtesy of the world's taxpayers.

The good news is that some low-tax jurisdictions are beginning to fight back. Late last month, the oldest bank in Switzerland, Wegelin & Co., issued a remarkable investment commentary entitled 'Farewell America'. It's well worth a read.

Wegelin has decided to no longer invest in the US because the new IRS regulations, which foreign banks must follow, are so vague, onerous and incomprehensible that it could never be sure the bank was not at risk.

So remember, when you complete your tax return, the details could be sent all round the world for governments to peruse. All done without your authority or knowledge of course.

Source: Brussels Journal

Speaking of tax Spy Blog has an interesting story concerning security at HMRC.

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