Above: downtown St George’s (CJ Photo)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

The government of Grenada released a statement today reaffirming its “commitment” to the principles of tax transparency and the fight against money laundering.

The country said it was committed to the “highest standards” of international cooperation in taxation matters, as enunciated by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

Part of the commitment included ensuring respect for taxpayers’ rights, strict confidentiality and no restrictions on the exchange of information caused by bank secrecy or domestic tax interest requirements.

As part of the commitment, the government announced it was issuing a moratorium on the licencing of any financial institution under the existing financial services legislation until the legislation was reviewed, assessed and benchmarked against Global Forum and FATF (Financial Action Task Force) standards.

Grenada is now readying a “comprehensive strategy” for the development and regulation of the international financial services sector, and will complete a report by the middle of this year on the subject.