The Crown dependencies and overseas territories (with the exception of Anguilla and Guernsey) have agreed that they will provide information on the beneficial ownership of companies registered in their jurisdictions to UK law enforcement and tax agencies. This month the EU’s five largest economies have banded together to automatically share information on the ultimate owners of companies – the latest move by European powers to tackle offshore tax evasion. The news was announced at the annual International Monetary Fund spring meeting in Washington DC, bringing together key EU allies Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the UK to exchange data on company beneficial ownership registers. The announcement also extends to sharing data on new registers of trusts. A global move towards interlinking country registries will provide, for the first time, international real-time access to tax and law enforcement agencies on company ownership. 30.5.16