The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is hosting a regional conference on the “Current Developments in International Taxation and the Impact on Caribbean Jurisdictions” on 13 December, 2016.

The conference, which is being organised by the Ministry of Finance, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, will welcome four members of the OECD and 17 regional representatives to the Territory for this important one-day conference.

This impressive list of regional representatives includes financial secretaries, tax commissioners and other high-level officials from Turks and Caicos Islands, Sint Maarten, Cayman Islands, Bahamas, St. Kitts and Nevis, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, Belize, Montserrat, Anguilla, BVI and Barbados; and Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, the Honourable Gaston Browne.

The conference will be held at the newly opened BVI International Arbitration Centre and will primarily focus on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) and the work of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS and developments in the area of tax transparency and exchange of information.

Director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, Pascal Saint-Amans, said, “We have received worldwide support for this new initiative with 85 countries already signed up to the inclusive framework and participating fully in moving the BEPS Initiative forwards. I welcome the leadership role that the British Virgin Islands Government has played in inviting the OECD and colleagues across the Caribbean to participate in this important meeting to discuss in more detail how the region can play its part”.

According to Financial Secretary, Neil Smith, the timing of the conference is especially appropriate given the challenging circumstances currently being faced by jurisdictions in the Caribbean due to initiatives like BEPS which aim to reform the international tax system and ensure it remains robust and fit for purpose within the context of a globalised economy.

He said, “This conference will allow regional leaders and regulatory bodies to get together and share perspectives, which may well be different, given our individual circumstances. I believe we can use this opportunity to learn from each other and engage in an open discussion to collectively assess the impact of the ongoing developments for the region.”