Discussions around new global anti-tax evasion rules were a major topic of discussion Friday in Washington, resulting in a warning that countries that don't crack down on tax dodgers could face repercussions, said Finance Minister Bill Morneau.

Morneau is in Washington along with Bank of Canada Governor Stephen Poloz for meetings with the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and fellow G20 bankers.

He said Friday during a media availability with Poloz that a meeting of G20 finance minister even ran over schedule due to discussions on the tax evasion issue.

The final communique from the meetings warned of potential repercussions for countries that don't follow new standards for bank reporting that are being promoted by the powerful international financial agencies.

It isn't clear yet what those repercussions could be.

The meetings come hot on the heels of the release of the so-called Panama Papers, which revealed billions of dollars in international funds being held in offshore bank accounts for legal tax avoidance.

Canada was mentioned along with other countries in another part of the communique as needing to do more to track down owners of dubious numbered companies that often operate on an almost anonymous basis.

Morneau said Canada has a lot of work to do on that front.

"We won't (stop) until we make sure we are not only in compliance but that we are doing a very good job of understanding who owns assets in our country, what taxes people owe and that they are in fact following through on paying their taxes," he told reporters Friday.

Aside from the discussions about tax avoidance, both Morneau and Poloz said the overall tone of economic discussions was improved compared to the last round of talks in March in Shanghai, China.

Poloz said markets appear to be in a "calmer phase" in most G20 countries, and predictions for China's economy are on target with expectations -- news that could have send ripples through other economies.

"I come away feeling a little more encouraged than when I arrived," Poloz said.

Morneau agreed the "tone and tenor of the meeting was different and better" than that of Shanghai just a month earlier.

He also said he received positive feedback from a number of G20 finance minister -- though he refrained from naming them -- on the Liberal government's approach to stimulating the economy through infrastructure spending and tax breaks for middle income earners.

The Wall Street Journal this week even called Morneau the "poster child" for the IMF's message that the world's biggest economies should increase spending as a means of helping the global economy.

Morneau said he plans to continue preaching that message.

"We will keep talking about what we're doing, we will continue to show people the impacts of the measures we are taking... as people see the results of the kind of initiatives we have taken in Canada that's what's going to convince people to change their profile so I will continue in that vein," Morneau said.