This country note provides information on latest trends in income inequalities as well as key findings from the 2015 OECD report "In it Together: Why less inequality benefits all".

As part of continuing efforts to improve the international tax framework, the OECD has released the first analysis of individual country efforts to improve dispute resolution mechanisms.

Mr. Angel Gurría will be in Istanbul on 2- 3 October 2013, to attend the Informal Meeting of OECD Ministers of Education taking place under the overall theme Fostering skills and employability through education. The Secretary-General will deliver opening remarks on “Kick-starting a global skills revolution”, alongside Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Minister of National Education Nabi Avci.

Turkey is a significant and geopolitically critical economy. Its companies, like those from many other countries, operate in corruption-prone sectors and countries. In spite of this, only 10 allegations have come to the attention of Turkish authorities since foreign bribery became an offence in Turkey in 2003.

In view of Turkey’s continued failure to implement key aspects of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention and to enforce its foreign bribery laws, the Working Group on Bribery will send a high-level mission to Ankara in 2020, unless Turkey takes concrete action by October 2019.

This publication catalogues national practices that illustrate implementation of aspects or elements of competitive neutrality and highlights examples of challenges that may be encountered.

The Netherlands has strongly benefited from globalisation, which boosted international trade, cross-border investment and economic growth over the latest decades.

Strong competition is an optimizer for our economies. First of all, it is the best catalyst to increase our productivity. This is because a strong competition framework generates the right incentives to attract the most efficient firms into our markets.

Disruptive innovation is redefining markets around the world and the Latin American and Caribbean region is no exception. In the run-up to the Latin American and Caribbean Competition Forum in Mexico-City on 12-13 April 2016, this article looks at the competition enforcement challenges and advocacy opportunities around disruptive innovations in the region.

Competition policy is vital for creating opportunities for small business and big industry alike. It benefits consumers by reducing prices and increasing the choice of goods and services. This joint World Bank Group-OECD event showcased countries whose pro-competition reform efforts serve as examples for their regional and international peers and introduced tools to guide the design of new and improved policies.

The post-crisis recovery in entrepreneurial activity remains mixed across countries, but new data released today by the OECD provides tentative signs of a turning point, with trends in enterprise creation rates pointing upwards in most economies.

The OECD’s latest Competition Assessment of Greece looks at e-commerce, construction, media, wholesale trade and a number of manufacturing sectors such as chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Despite major progress, Turkey still lags behind most comparable countries in terms of exported value added per capita. Its remarkable economic performance over the past 15 years has not been sufficiently backed by gains in export market shares, in particular when measured in value added terms.

‌International co-operation in competition law enforcement is at the core of the OECD competition-related work. This inventory covers over 140 co-operation MoUs between competition agencies where at least one of the signatories is a competition authority of an OECD Member, Associate or Participant to the OECD Competition Committee, or the European Union.

Drawing on data presented in the 2017 OECD Business and Finance Outlook, this article looks at some of the forces influencing recent economic developments and asks what can be done to ensure a “fairer” global economy.

The 2018 OECD-IDB Latin American Competition Forum takes place in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 18-19 September 2018. Discussions will focus on the informal economy in the region, industrial policy and the promotion of domestic industry and competition law and policy in Peru.

México tiene una de las tasas más altas de obesidad: casi uno de cada tres adultos son obesos. Como consecuencia, los mexicanos viven en promedio 4,2 años menos debido al sobrepeso, la mayor reducción en esperanza de vida de todos los países analizados. Las repercusiones sobre la economía son destacables: el sobrepeso representa el 8,9% del gasto en salud.

Mexico has one of the highest rates of obesity: nearly one in three adults are obese. As a result, Mexicans live on average 4.2 years less due to overweight, the largest reductions in life expectancy of all countries analysed. The impact on the economy is large: overweight accounts for 8.9% of health expenditure; and lowers labour market outputs by the equivalent of 2.4m full time workers per year.

Public comments received on the discussion draft on the meaning of “beneficial owner” in the OECD Model Tax Convention

Meeting with Business Representatives on definitional and ownership issues related to transfer pricing of intangibles: 7-9 November 2011

Costa Rica has signed the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a multilateral agreement developed jointly by the Council of Europe and the OECD that was opened for signature to all countries in June 2011.

Today Argentina has deposited its instrument of ratification making Argentina the first country from South America to become a Party to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and allowing it to benefit from cross border tax co-operation and information sharing.

Pakistan has joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. As the 111th member of the Global Forum, it will participate in the peer review process which encourages all countries to adopt effective exchange of information in tax matters.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on a revised discussion draft on the meaning of “beneficial owner”, a term that is used in Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the OECD Model Tax Convention.

On 19 October 2012, the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs released for public comment revised proposals concerning the meaning of “beneficial owner” in Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the OECD Model Tax Convention. The OECD has now published the comments received on this revised discussion draft.

Azerbaijan and the Kingdom of Lesotho have joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. As the 119th and 120th members of the Global Forum, they will participate in the peer review process which encourages all countries to adopt effective exchange of information in tax matters.

Over 300 senior tax officials from more than 100 jurisdictions and international organisations met in Paris on 26-27 September 2013 during the 18th Annual Tax Treaty Meeting to discuss solutions to unintended double non-taxation caused by base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

Strong competition is an optimizer for our economies. First of all, it is the best catalyst to increase our productivity. This is because a strong competition framework generates the right incentives to attract the most efficient firms into our markets.

OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurría, congratulated Japanese Prime Minister Abe on his announcement today that Japan will raise its consumption tax as legislated from the current 5% to 8% next April.

A public consultation will be held at the OECD Conference Centre on 12-13 November 2013. The public consultation is open to all interested persons and will be attended by country delegates to Working Party No. 6 of the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs. Persons interested in attending must register in advance through the OECD website.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on a discussion draft that includes various technical changes to be included in the next update to the OECD Model Tax Convention.

On 15 November 2013, the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA) invited public comments on a discussion draft on technical changes to be included in the next update to the OECD Model Tax Convention. The OECD has now published the comments received on that discussion draft.

A revision of the timetable for planned stakeholders’ input is now available online with the dates when discussion drafts will be published and public consultations held in relation to the September 2014 BEPS outputs.

In line with the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan to involve developing countries in the work on BEPS, the OECD has held two regional consultations for the Asia-Pacific and Latin American-Caribbean regions.

Public comments are invited on a discussion draft that includes the proposals produced with respect to Action 6 (Prevent Treaty Abuse) of the BEPS Action Plan.

Public comments are invited on discussion drafts that include the proposals produced with respect to Action 2 (Hybrid Mismatch Arrangements) of the BEPS Action Plan.

Public comments are invited on a discussion draft that includes the proposals produced with respect to Action 1 (Tax Challenges of the Digital Economy) of the BEPS Action Plan.

The OECD publishes comments received from interested parties on the discussion draft on Action 6 (Prevent Treaty Abuse) of the BEPS Action Plan.

Tax for development: why better public services matter

At the G20’s request, the OECD is leading the development of a strategy to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The Development Working Group has asked the OECD to draw together the experiences of developing countries and international organisations in a report on the main sources of BEPS in developing countries and how these relate to the OECD/G20 BEPS Action Plan on this issue.

Public comments are invited on request for input on BEPS Action 11 regarding work on establishing methodologies to collect and analyse data on BEPS and the actions to address it.

The OECD released today its first recommendations for a co-ordinated international approach to combat tax avoidance by multinational enterprises, under the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project designed to create a single set of international tax rules to end the erosion of tax bases and the artificial shifting of profits to jurisdictions to avoid paying tax.

Almost 300 senior tax officials from more than 100 countries and international organisations met in Paris on 25-26 September 2014 during the 19th Annual Global Forum on Tax Treaties to discuss solutions to unintended double non-taxation caused by base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

On 4 August 2014, interested parties were invited to comment on BEPS Action 11 regarding work on establishing methodologies to collect and analyse data on BEPS and the actions to address it. Comments received have now been published.

The new OECD/G20 standard on automatic exchange of information was endorsed today by all OECD and G20 countries as well as major financial centres participating in the annual meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in Berlin. A status report on committed and not committed jurisdictions will be presented to G20 leaders during their annual summit in Brisbane, Australia on November 15-16.

The Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA) invites interested parties to send comments on this discussion draft, which includes the preliminary results of the work carried on with respect to issues related to the artificial avoidance of PE status and includes proposals for changes to the definition of permanent establishment found in the OECD Model Tax Convention.

Public comments are invited on a discussion draft which deals with follow-up work mandated by the Report on Action 6 (“Prevent the granting of treaty benefits in inappropriate circumstances”) of the BEPS Action Plan.

On 10-11 December, officials from fourteen developing countries discussed ways to maximise benefits from their recent commitment to enhanced engagement in the BEPS Project.

Public comments are invited on the discussion draft on the use of profit splits in the context of global value chains, released as part of the work in relation to Action 10 of the BEPS Action Plan.

Public comments are invited on a discussion draft which deals with the work on Action 14 (“Make dispute resolution mechanisms more effective”) of the BEPS Action Plan.