M'SIA IS AGAINST TAX HAVEN BLACKLISTING

New Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib said Friday the country should not be listed on a tax havens blacklist as it is committed to global tax standards.

"We should not be in that category as - in practice - we have been committed to OECD requirements," he said in a statement, referring to the list published by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.

"I understand that the list is a progress report or status report of jurisdictions which have not committed to the internationally-agreed tax standards," he added.

Najib, who is also Finance Minister, was responding to reports that Malaysia and its offshore jurisdiction, Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (IBFC), has been categorised as "jurisdictions which have not committed to the internationally-agreed tax standards".

The OECD on Thursday said Costa Rica, Malaysia, the Philippines and Uruguay had not committed to the internationally-agreed standard on exchanging tax information.

It listed another 38 territories as those that "have committed to the internationally-agreed tax standard but have not yet substantially implemented" the measures.

Najib also said Labuan had never been in any list of "tax havens" issued by OECD and Malaysia had always been cooperative with competent authorities.

"At all times, Labuan IBFC, Labuan Offshore Financial Services Authority (LOFSA) and Malaysian authorities have been co-operative with competent authorities from other countries on tax matters and financial crime, particularly money laundering," he said.

"Certainly, we expect the OECD to amend the list to put us in the category of jurisdictions that have committed to the internationally-agreed tax standard" he added.