An information sharing contract has been signed between the Nordic nations and the Bahamas, intended to hinder Nordic tax evasion.
The contract signed yesterday allows Nordic tax authorities access to information on taxes paid and deposits made by Nordic citizens in the Bahamas and will help them track and assess those trying to hide taxable assets overseas.
The contract is the latest in a joint Nordic campaign against tax fraud and was signed at the Danish Embassy in Paris yesterday.
The project has been enthusiastically endorsed by the OECD and has strengthened the position of the Nordic nations on the world stage, RUV reports.
Since project negotiations began in 2007, similar contracts have come into force with Aruba, Andorra, the Bahamas, Bermuda, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, the Antilles, the Cayman Islands, British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Turks and Caicos Islands, Gibraltar, the Cook Islands, Samoa and San Marino.
Denmark has also independently signed similar contracts with St. Lucia, St. Vincent and Grenadine, St. Kitts and Nevis and Antigua and Barbuda.
Two bankrupt companies connected to former business tycoons Jon Asgeir Johannesson, Palmi Haraldsson and Hannes Smarason have almost no assets at all, but owe over ISK 100 billion (USD 780 million).