A Commitment to global standards of transparency and exchange ofinformation as developed by the OECDLiechtenstein is committed to act as a responsible member of the global communityand wishes to contribute to the global effort to help foster long-term economicprosperity and the social well-being of everybody. Liechtenstein’s central location inEurope, its integration in the European Economic Area and the global community aswell as the openness of markets, not just in the financial area, encourageLiechtenstein to strive towards far-reaching cooperation in tax matters according toOECD standards and beyond in order to better meet the concerns of other states,investors and its financial centre.Liechtenstein is prepared to enhance its participation in international efforts tocounteract non-compliance with foreign tax laws in a globally integrated financialcommunity and to strengthen its cooperation with other countries by means ofbilateral agreements on exchange of information for tax purposes or, as the case maybe, by means of double taxation agreements. Liechtenstein commits to and willimplement the global standards of transparency and exchange of information asdeveloped by the OECD and plans to go beyond these standards in order to bettermeet the concerns and tax claims of other jurisdictions. The Government’s objective isto reflect the legitimate needs of investors, to encourage the financial centre’s role asa tax-compliant destination and to strengthen its transparency and accountability. Inaddition, Liechtenstein is prepared to continue the negotiations with the EU on an anti-fraud agreement and to renegotiate the agreement on the taxation of savingsconcerning the extension of its scope of application.Having the legitimate needs of its clients and its industrial sector in mind,Liechtenstein is-prepared to negotiate bilateral tax information exchange and otheragreements that may go beyond OECD standards so as to provide particularly foreffective exchange of information to address the global issue of tax fraud and taxevasion as well as double taxation. In parallel, the Government of Liechtenstein will beencouraging its treaty partners to establish procedures designed to help investors, ifnecessary, to regularise any former, ongoing and future tax compliance obligations intheir countries of residence. For the benefit of the investors, foreign jurisdictions andLiechtenstein’s financial centre,-voluntary disclosure procedures should ideally provideadequate legal certainty to clients and financial institutions guiding them through thisprocess.Furthermore, Liechtenstein is prepared to develop comprehensive solutions to protectthe legitimate tax claims of other jurisdictions according to their fiscal sovereignty andto balance legitimate interests of jurisdictions. Additionally, clear and detailedguidelines and technical assistance will be sought from Liechtenstein’s treaty partnerswith regard to the application of the law of taxation of the residency state to assetsheld in or via Liechtenstein in order to ensure an effective approach to the exchange ofinformation, to inform taxpayers and financial service providers about their obligationsand to provide legal certainty. The Liechtenstein Government believes that this willhelp develop Liechtenstein‘s role as a tax-compliant international financial centre.During the past months, Liechtenstein has greatly benefited from discussions withseveral Governments of EU Member States as well as government associations tobetter understand the needs of the global community. These discussions have beenmost valuable in developing this Declaration. Liechtenstein appreciates the guidance ithas received, and is looking forward to participating in further discussions ontransparency and exchange of information.AT2