Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes

1. S. 199Introduction

‘The Nordic Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, concluded by Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Iceland, can be seen as a pioneering measure regarding multilateral cooperation in mutual tax assistance.’

This statement summarizes well the essence of the Nordic cooperation in tax matters and the multilateral convention which is the subject of this contribution. Examination of the provisions of the Nordic Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the Nordic Convention), particularly with regard to exchange of information, shows that the Nordic countries have in many aspects been a step ahead of, for example, the OECD and the European Union. The Nordic Convention has also served as a model and a reference for other regulations, such as the CoE/OECD Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the CoE/OECD Convention).

The Nordic countries have a long history of very extensive and vivid regional cooperation. Factors contributing to this are, for example, traditionally strong commercial links and high migration figures as well as free employment markets among the countries. The Nordic countries also share ma...