Uruguay became the "white" jurisdiction in the OECD lists

The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is an international economic organization of developed countries, carrying out extensive analytical work, it makes recommendations for member states. OECD represents a platform for multilateral negotiations on economic issues. The organization establishes lists of countries according to their compliance with its tax standards. At the moment there are two lists of the OECD: "gray" and "white." The "white" list includes countries that fully meet the standards of the organization, and concluded at least 12 tax information exchange agreements. The "gray" list includes countries that do not fully comply with the standards of the organization. Today, the "gray" list includes Nauru, Niue and Guatemala.

Recently, Uruguay has been listed among the jurisdictions of the "gray" list (countries which do not fully comply with OECD standards).

However, 15 December 2011 Uruguay signed seven new tax treaties providing exchange of information. Thus, the total number of such agreements of Uruguay is 18, which allowes the country to come into the "white" list of the OECD. This jurisdiction signed tax agreements with the following countries: Denmark, Ecuador, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, Germany, Greenland, Hungary, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Malta, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

Expert’s opinion

“For the country being in any list of various international organizations, of course, affects its credibility in the international arena. Uruguay, that has recently been in the "gray" list of the OECD, now is listed in the "white list" of this organization. The main requirements put forward in relation to countries aspiring to get into the "white" list is the number of signed tax treaties, which must be at least 12. Thus, the tax attraction of Uruguay jurisdiction has increased, which should positively impact on financial flows to the country”.