OECD publishes comments received on Action 2 discussions drafts (Neutralise the Effects of Hybrid Mismatch Arrangements)

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 OECD has released statistics on the MAP caseloads of OECD member countries and certain Partner economies for the 2013 reporting period.

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.

The OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on two new draft elements of the OECD International VAT/GST Guidelines (the Guidelines). These discussion drafts relate to (i) the place of taxation of business-to-consumer supplies of services and intangibles (B2C Guidelines) and (ii) provisions to support the application of the Guidelines in practice (Supporting provisions).

The agreed mandate authorises the formation of an ad-hoc negotiating group, open to participation from all states. The group will be hosted by the OECD and will hold its first meeting by July 2015, with an aim to conclude drafting by 31 December 2016.

On 18 December 2014, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on discussion drafts of two new elements of the OECD International VAT/GST Guidelines. These discussion drafts related to (i) the place of taxation of business-to-consumer supplies of services and intangibles (B2C Guidelines) and (ii) provisions to support the application of the Guidelines in practice (Supporting provisions)

Tax revenues in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) have remained stable in 2013 and continue to be considerably lower, as a proportion of national incomes, than in most OECD countries.

Public comments are invited on this discussion draft which deals with work in relation to Action 8 of the BEPS Action Plan.

In a boost for international efforts to strengthen co-operation against offshore tax evasion, seven new countries have joined the agreement to exchange information automatically under the OECD/G20 standard.

Pushing forward efforts to boost transparency in international tax matters, the OECD today released a package of measures for the implementation of a new Country-by-Country Reporting plan developed under the OECD/G20 BEPS Project.

Taxes are potentially among the most effective ways of cutting pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, but they are currently – with very few exceptions – underused; and even where used, they are frequently designed in a sub-optimal way.

Increasing tax revenues and ensuring sustainable domestic resource mobilisation will be critical as emerging Asian economies seek to boost the provision of public goods and services and improve economic growth and living standards.

SMEs form the vast majority of businesses in most countries and contribute strongly to employment and economic growth, but they face particular challenges, particularly as concerns access to finance. Governments have a range of policy levers, including tax policies, that can and should be used to support the growth and development of SMEs, according to a new OECD report.

G20 finance ministers endorsed the final package of measures for a comprehensive, coherent and co-ordinated reform of the international tax rules during a meeting on 8 October, in Lima, Peru.

In-depth discussions took place this week as the international community continues to make progress on the international tax agenda. Officials from more than 100 countries drawing from tax authorities, ministries of finance, development agencies, as well as regional and international organisations, business and civil society came together in a series of meetings hosted by the OECD.

On 1 December 2015 the OECD agreed on a common way forward in response to a request submitted by the European Commission pursuant to a mandate from EU Member States to include additional fields in the CRS XML Schema. This request was made further to the work of the European Commission and the EU Member States on the implementation of the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Information in Tax Matters within the European Union.

On 17 December 2015 Greenland signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement‎, re-confirming its commitment to implement automatic exchange of financial account information in time to exchange in 2017.

Malaysia today signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement‎, re-confirming its commitment to implement automatic exchange of financial account information in time to commence exchanges in 2018.

As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), 31 countries signed today the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports. The signing ceremony marks an important milestone towards implementation of the OECD/G20 BEPS Project and a significant increase in cross-border cooperation on tax matters.

On 22-23 February 2016, a regional network meeting on the implementation of the BEPS package was held in Dakar (Senegal), by the OECD in partnership with the CREDAF (Centre de Rencontres et d'Etudes des Dirigeants des Administrations Fiscales).

On 1-3 March 2016, the OECD hosted two important events for the international tax community. The Task Force on Tax and Development and the Global Forum on Transfer Pricing gathered over 230 participants representing 84 jurisdictions and 11 international and regional organisations.

Despite a continuing slowdown in economic growth, tax revenues in Latin American and Caribbean countries rose slightly in 2014, as a proportion of national incomes, according to new data from the annual Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean publication.

Responses are invited to the questions included in a consultation document on issues and suggestions related to the impact of the Report on BEPS Action 6 on the tax treaty entitlement of non-CIV funds.

The “Panama Papers” revelations have shone the light on Panama’s culture and practice of secrecy. Panama is the last major holdout that continues to allow funds to be hidden offshore from tax and law enforcement authorities

The issue of illicit financial flows (IFFS) is at the forefront of the international agenda. Both the OECD and the High Level Panel have focused attention on this problem and have identified ways in which to tackle it.

Bermuda became the 33rd signatory of the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports (CbC MCAA), which is based on Article 6 of the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and puts in place the automatic exchange framework for exchanging Country-by-Country Reports, as contemplated by BEPS Action 13.

On 24 March 2016, comments were invited to the questions included in a consultation document on issues and suggestions on the tax treaty entitlement of non-CIV (Collective Investment Vehicle) funds.

As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), Canada, Iceland, India, Israel, New Zealand and the People’s Republic of China signed today the Multilateral Competent Authority agreement for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports (“CbC MCAA”), bringing the total number of signatories to 39 countries. The signing ceremony took place in Beijing, China.

If there is a silver lining to the 2008 financial crisis, it is that it was a catalyst for the unprecedented progress we have made in building robust international tax standards for the interconnected global economy of the 21st century.

Public comments are invited on technical issues identified in a request for input related to the development of a multilateral instrument to implement the tax-treaty related BEPS measures. Comments should be sent by 30 June 2016 at the latest.

Today the OECD has taken a new step in its continuing efforts to boost transparency in international tax matters with the release of guidance on the implementation of country-by-country (CbC) reporting.

On 31 May 2016, public comments were invited on technical issues identified in a Request for Input related to the development of a multilateral instrument to implement the tax-treaty related BEPS measures. This document compiles the comments received in response to that request for input.

The OECD will hold a public consultation event on the Multilateral Instrument on 7 July 2016 at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris, France.

The OECD has released a discussion draft which deals with the design and operation of the group ratio rule under BEPS Action 4 and the standardised IT-format for the exchange of tax rulings between jurisdictions under BEPS Action 5. It also announced that Angola has become the 83rd member of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS.

Governments should use tax policy to drive forward economic agendas that seek to boost growth while sharing the benefits more evenly within society, according to a new OECD report.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum) published today 10 new peer review reports demonstrating continuing progress toward implementation of the international standard for exchange of information on request.

This report consists of two parts. Part I is a report by the OECD Secretary-General regarding (A) the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project; (B) Tax transparency; (C) Tax policy tools to support sustainable and inclusive growth; and (D) Tax and development. Part II is a Progress Report to the G20 by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

57 delegates from 10 countries and 8 organisations gathered in Montevideo for the 1st regional meeting of the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit shifting (BEPS) after its launch in Kyoto on 29 June-1st July 2016.

As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), Brazil, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and Latvia signed today the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports, bringing the total number of signatories to 49.

Tax burdens and revenue collection across the OECD countries are reaching levels not seen since before the global financial crisis. Nevertheless, the tax mix varies enormously across the advanced economies.

More than 100 jurisdictions have concluded negotiations on a multilateral instrument that will swiftly implement a series of tax treaty measures to update international tax rules and lessen the opportunity for tax avoidance by multinational enterprises.

In 2014, the tax-to-GDP ratios of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore were below 17% of GDP compared to Japan and Korea, which both recorded tax-to-GDP ratios above 24%,according to new data released in the third edition of the OECD’s annual publication Revenue Statistics in Asian Countries.

The Inclusive Framework on BEPS has released two new documents to support the global implementation of Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting (BEPS Action 13).

The OECD’s work to advance tax certainty specifically includes work to improve the timeliness of processing and completing mutual agreement procedure (MAP) cases under tax treaties and to enhance the transparency of the MAP process. As part of that work, the OECD makes available annual statistics on the MAP caseloads of all its member countries and of non-OECD economies that agree to provide such statistics.

This paper examines the impact of tax and benefit systems on the incentives for second earners to enter formal employment. The paper highlights how various tax design features create greater participation disincentives for second earners than for primary earners or single individuals.

Comments are invited on draft examples included in a discussion draft on the follow-up work on the ineraction between the treaty provisions of the report on BEPS Action 6 and the treaty entitlement of non-CIV funds.

As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), Gabon, Hungary, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malta, Mauritius and the Russian Federation have now signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for Country-by-Country Reporting (CbC MCAA), bringing the total number of signatories to 57. Lithuania and Hungary joined the Agreement in October and December 2016 respectively.

On 6 January 2017, public comments were invited on draft examples prepared as part of the follow-up work on the interaction between the treaty provisions of the report on BEPS Action 6 and the treaty entitlement of non-CIV funds. The OECD is grateful for the input and now publishes a compilation of the comments received.

In many OECD countries, student debt is rising, and in many others, public debts are persistently high. How can policy makers decide on the right financing mix for students and governments? This is where taxes have an important role to play. In a nutshell, delivering educational services will depend on taxes, and good tax income will depend on good educational services.