Why the South African investor should take note of the Common
Reporting Standards
The release of the Panama Papers has once again shone the
spotlight on the offshore finance industry and many have commented
and criticised. While it appears that the firm in question was not
applying international standards of transparency and due diligence,
in terms of the Common Reporting Standards (CRS) regulations now
being implemented by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development (OECD), the exposure of this company's clients has
simply been brought forward. The question now is: what do these CRS
regulations mean for South African investors?
At the 2016 G20 Hangzhou Summit, the OECD said that Panama was
back-tracking on its commitment to automatically exchange financial
account information, and described it as "the last major
holdout that continues to allow funds to be hidden offshore from
tax and law enforcement authorities".
