The [Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes](http://www.oecd.org/site/0,3407,en_21571361_43854757_1_1_1_1_1,00.html) will hold the third meeting of its Peer Review Group in Nassau from July 20-22, 2010.

The Global Forum established the [Peer Review Group](http://www.oecd.org/document/26/0,3343,en_21571361_43854757_43914842_1_1_1_1,00.html) (PRG) in September 2009, as a technical working group consisting of representatives of 30 countries, including The Bahamas. It is operating under a mandate to develop and implement a system for the assessment, monitoring and review of actions taken by member countries towards the implementation of the established standards for transparency and information exchange with regard to tax matters.

Some 100 jurisdictions, including The Bahamas, will be assessed over the next three years, in a two-phase [Peer Review Process](https://bfsb-bahamas.com/news.php?cmd=view&id=2915&pre=y) that will examine (i) legal and regulatory frameworks for transparency and information exchange; and (ii) practical implementation. The review process will identify jurisdictions that are not implementing the standards, and these will be provided with guidance on the changes required and a deadline to report back on the improvements they have made.

The Phase 1 review for The Bahamas began on July 1, with Phase 2 being scheduled for July 2012. *(Visit [Tax Cooperation](https://bfsb-bahamas.com/international.php) for details on The Bahamas’ stance on transparency and information exchange)*

Jeffrey Owens, Director of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration has said the real test of developments in transparency and exchange of information as witnessed with the huge number of tax treaties signed since April 2009 will come with the Peer Review Process, when the Global Forum *“can evaluate the quality of these agreements and the extent of the implementation of the standards in practice.”*

The Global Forum has been the multilateral framework within which work in the area transparency and exchange of information has been carried out by both OECD and non-OECD economies since 2000.

On the occasion of the PRG Meeting in Nassau, Mr. Pascal Saint-Amans, Head of the Secretariat of the Global Forum will address a BFSB member forum on general issues of tax and transparency, while also providing an overview of the Forum’s work.