Over 130 representatives of 55 governments, the Commonwealth Secretariat and the European Commission met on 15-16 November 2005 in Melbourne, Australia to review progress towards the OECD’s stated objective of transparency and effective exchange of information for tax purposes (the so called “level playing field based on high standards”). And what an extraordinary gathering it was, with tiny islands like Vanuatu and Niue sitting down at the same table as the US, the EU member states, and Canada!

The two day discussions, which were based upon the review of the legal and administrative frameworks on transparency and exchange of information in tax matters currently in place in over 80 countries, showed that a global level playing field in the areas of transparency and effective exchange of information in tax matters is gradually developing. However, the Forum’s discussions identified a number of areas where further progress needs to be made. The Forum’s review will be published as a formal report in 2006.

For a fuller article on the Forum and its outcome click here

Technically the expression "offshore" means "moving or directed away from the shore" as in the term "an offshore wind". In finance the expression is used to describe an arrangement that is located or based in a foreign country and therefore not subject to the laws of the jurisdiction in which you or your business is domiciled. (E.g., offshore bank account; offshore investment).

The concept of an "offshore jurisdiction" is commonly used in connection with financial transactions to describe the use of jurisdictions which are predominantly financial centres and which have enacted special legislation and/or tax regimes in order to attract financial services from other, mainly larger, countries. Generally these offshore financial centres are characterized by low or zero taxes on international business, liberal laws for the incorporation of international business corporations or other legal structures, and a lighter burden of regulation and supervision.

Many offshore jurisdictions are small islands in the Atlantic, Indian or Pacific oceans. Given the extent of the British Empire in its hay day it is not surprising to find that many of these islands where once owned by the U.K.  Perhaps more surprising is the fact that most of the U.K.’s last remaining colonies - or "Overseas Territories" as we should now call them - are leading offshore financial centres, namely: Bermuda, BVI, Cayman Islands and Gibraltar.  Throw in the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man, which are also all offshore financial centres, and we could claim that the City of London’s finest export to the world is "Offshore Financial Centres". LOL

William M. Gray and Philip J. Klotzbach have recently revised their annual forecast for likely hurricane activity in the Atlantic basin. They foresee an above-average hurricane season for the Atlantic in 2005. They also anticipate an above-average probability of US major hurricane landfall. They have adjusted their forecast upward from an early December forecast and state that they may further raise their prediction in later updates if they can be sure El Niño conditions will not develop this year. Grenada and the Cayman Islands were particularly badly hit in september last year by Hurricane Ivan. Bermuda was hit by Hurricane Fabian in 2003. By the numbers from their report:

"Information obtained through March 2005 indicates that the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season will be an active one. We estimate that 2005 will have about 7 hurricanes (average is 5.9), 13 named storms (average is 9.6), 65 named storm days (average is 49), 35 hurricane days (average is 24.5), 3 intense (category 3-4-5) hurricanes (average is 2.3) and 7 intense hurricane days (average is 5.0). We expect Atlantic basin Net Tropical Cyclone (NTC) activity in 2005 to be about 135 percent of the long-term average. The probability of U.S. major hurricane landfall is estimated to be 140 percent of the long-period average. We expect this year to continue the past-decade trend of above-average hurricane seasons."