IMBERT’S CHEAP THRILLS

FINANCE Minister Colm Imbert has been bragging about signing an international treaty – but the compliance took place after years of failure.

Imbert also fumed last week that the media have “no interest in this good news.”

The “good news” is Trinidad and Tobago finally met the terms of the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, the world’s largest such treaty.

A total of 148 countries signed the pact before T&T.

The convention was introduced in 1988.

The agreement will now permit T&T to exchange tax and related information with the other signatory countries.

For years the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) pleaded with T&T to pass the relevant laws and set up the administrative framework to become a member of the convention.

The Rowley Government failed to become compliant in each successive year.

In its 2019 report, for example, the OECD listed the failure on assorted crucial matters and “recommended” that T&T “take steps” to implement them.

There was a list of failures, with pleas for implementation of pertinent processes and procedures.

T&T was one of only 12 “non-cooperative jurisdictions,” according to the OECD.

The failure to pass the relevant law extended from the tenure of Attorney General Faris Al Rawi to Reginald Armour.

The Government finally met the appropriate terms and conditions a few months ago.

Imbert flew to Paris, France to initial the deal, and had his ministry issue a media statement calling the event “a significant milestone.”

The ministry stated that signing the agreement underscored “the nation’s commitment to global tax transparency cooperation.”

By joining the convention, T&T “demonstrates its dedication to upholding international tax standards and combating illicit financial flows,” the ministry said.

The ministry also interpreted the signing as an indication of “the nation’s growing influence…”

Imbert and his ministry did not state that most countries were ahead of T&T and that the OECD issued repeated statements about this country’s non-compliance.

The minister also did not indicate that T&T was in a short list of non-conforming nations.

In Imbert’s cheap thrills, he termed the compliance “a big boost for foreign investment,” ignoring the fact that investors have been fleeing T&T for several reasons.

In Paris, he posed with senior OECD officials, who would clearly be satisfied that, after years of failure, T&T has finally joined the rest of the world on this important treaty.

But Imbert saw the signing as an opportunity for excited boasting and predictable criticism of the media.