President Baron Waqa today welcomed new findings from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development revealing Nauru’s progress in complying with the international standard on transparency and exchange of information on request.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s national elections, Mr Waqa said the latest report from the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum) was a “great outcome” for Nauru.
“My government won the last election by making a commitment to the Nauruan people that we would be a transparent and accountable administration, and our efforts have once again been recognised by a world agency,” he said.
“The outcome from this Global Forum Report is abundantly clear – my government is making sound progress when it comes to transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.
“We are continuing to build the finances of our nation and have set up Nauru for future generations. We have delivered budgets in surplus, transformed the economy and paid out most of our internal debt – and we are determined to continue our good work.”
The report is part of the second-round of Global Forum reviews, which assess jurisdictions against the updated standard, which requires beneficial ownership information of all relevant legal entities and arrangements, in line with the definition used by the Financial Action Task Force Recommendations.
Justice Minister David Adeang said the report found Nauru had implemented several significant legal reforms since an earlier review in 2016, including enacting or amending the Trusts Act Partnership Act, Corporations Act and Business Licences Act to ensure availability of adequate ownership and accounting information.
“It highlights the advances Nauru is making to improve its legal and regulatory framework in all aspects of transparency and exchange of information including the availability of legal and beneficial ownership information, and of accounting information in respect of relevant entities and arrangements.
“The Waqa Government continues to be recognised for its economic management and its support and management of Nauru’s international commitments. This includes establishing a new bank for our people and joining the International Monetary Fund,” he said.