In The Chair: Mark Pragnell Interviews Pascal Saint-Amans

MP: Pascal, thank you for making the time to answer our questions. It’s an understatement to say that a lot has happened in the world since your last interview for IFC Review, in December 2018 with the respected Irish corporate tax lawyer Mark O’Sullivan. There’s a lot to cover …… Beyond transparency MP: Let’s start with one of the OECD’s greatest achievements. Twenty years ago, few would have anticipated the mass exchange of private financial information between different jurisdictions’ tax authorities. But first, the OECD’s Tax Information Exchange Agreements and more recently its Common Reporting Standard (CRS) have created a new world order in tax cooperation and transparency. Last year, information regarding 84 million accounts with assets of €10 trillion were shared – double that of 2018. Some want to go further. They don’t just want thorough, systematic and robust data collection, and its speedy automatic exchange between competent authorities. They want the information (or some of it) to be freely available in the public domain for anyone to access. Where should the line be drawn between personal privacy and the ‘public interest’ need for financial transparency? PSA: As you know, offshore tax evasion is a serious problem for jurisdictions…