World leaders at the G8 summit held in Northern Ireland last month drew up a 10 point agreement in a summit communique issued on tackling tax evasion. But whilst the principles underpinning the Lough Erne declaration are laudable, it falls short of a universal deal on full buy in and the detailed action plan many wanted to see.

Speaking before the summit, Director of Taxation with Chartered Accountants Ireland Brian Keegan had already outlined many of the key aspirations announced but highlighted the need for the G8 to take action and reach a consensus so that any change made will be affected across the board, particularly in the information sharing arena.

Probably one of the most hotly debated areas in recent time, the communique seeks for countries to “change rules that let companies shift their profits across borders to avoid taxes, and multinationals should report to tax authorities what tax they pay where”. Also included in the core principles announced is an objective of making ownership information clearer and automatic sharing of information by tax authorities across the world.

Tax avoidance continues to be high on the international agenda and has been the focus of heated debate in recent times.

The G8 Leaders had already agreed to a series of “core principles” on how companies are misused for tax avoidance and evasion purposes, often disguising the true owners of a business to reduce their burdens. However it seems the G8 would not commit to a unified approach on increasing the transparency of company ownership across their countries.

It is not yet clear how bound each G8 country is to the declaration or company ownership principles, though the UK has signalled its commitment by issuing an ‘action plan’ which recognises that “a one-size-fits all approach may not be the most effective”.

An old adage springs to mind in this instance – actions speak louder than words.

The Lough Erne declaration and the UK Government's subsequently issued G8 action plan are reproduced on here.