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Transparency and disclosurephrase “foreseeably relevant,” but these options are intended to allowtreaty partners to choose language that they find clear in specifying thegoal of “effective” exchange of information. 63Despite the expanded scope of exchange of information under the“foreseeably relevant” language of Article 26, it is important to note thatautomatic exchange of information entirely eliminates even a broad testfor demonstrating the connection between the requested informationand the investigation of the taxing authorities. The automatic receipt ofspecified bulk data effectively would place no such constraints on jurisdictionsseeking information in the designated categories. Additionally,the current “upon request” process requires an allocation of the potentiallylimited resources of the requesting country, which would be alleviatedunder automatic exchange of information.5.2.2 Bank secrecyHistorically, States have declined to comply with a request for informationunder Article 26 on the grounds that compliance would violatedomestic law, specifically, bank secrecy rules. Where countries hadsuch domestic law provisions severely limiting (often under significantpenalty) the ability of a financial institution to share information withthe government regarding a client, and/or limiting the ability of thegovernment to share such information with another country, domesticlaw regularly trumped the operation of Article 26. In 2011, Article 26of the United Nations Model Convention was revised to provide thatcertain domestic laws may not be used as a defence in complying withan exchange of information request. Thus, the new language in Article26 (5) states: “In no case shall the provision of paragraph 3 [outliningappropriate grounds to refuse a request] be construed to permit aContracting State to decline to supply information solely because theinformation is held by a bank, other financial institution, nominee orperson acting in an agency or a fiduciary capacity or because it relatesto ownership interests in a person.” 6463Article 26 of the OECD Model Convention also uses the phrase “foreseeablyrelevant.”64Article 26 of the OECD Model Convention also bars refusal on thegrounds of bank secrecy.557

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