Approximately 300 participants, representing over 100 delegations from countries, jurisdictions and international organisations, as well as representatives from the business community and academia, gathered in Paris for the fourth meeting of the OECD Global Forum on VAT on 12-14 April 2017.

His Excellency Muadid Hareb Mughair Al-Khaili, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to France, signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in the presence of the OECD Deputy Secretary-General, Rintaro Tamaki.

Public comments are invited on a discussion draft which provides guidance on the implementation of the approach to pricing transfers of hard-to-value intangibles described in Chapter VI of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

Today the OECD released the key document, approved by the Inclusive Framework on BEPS, which will form the basis of the peer review of the Action 6 minimum standard on preventing the granting of treaty benefits in inappropriate circumstances.

The Inclusive Framework on BEPS ("IF") welcomes Djibouti as its newest member, bringing to 97 the total number of countries and jurisdictions participating on an equal footing in the project. Djibouti also joins the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes as its 141st member.

On 5 May, the OECD launched a public disclosure facility for information on schemes designed to circumvent the application of the Common Reporting Standard.

The OECD welcomes the decision by The Bahamas to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, which was formally communicated to the OECD in a letter from The Bahamas’ Minister of Finance, the Hon Kevin P. Turnquest MP, on Monday 29 May 2017.

Thailand has become the 98th jurisdiction to join the Inclusive Framework on BEPS (“IF”) and will participate on an equal footing with all other IF members at the next plenary meeting of the IF that will be held on 21-22 June 2017 in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

You are invited to join a webinar on 9 June at 15h00 with OECD experts to discuss the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS (MLI). This online event follows the signing ceremony which took place in Paris on 7 June where over 65 countries and jurisdictions signed the multilateral instrument. Participants will have the opportunity to ask questions during the webinar.

The President of the Republic of Guatemala, Jimmy Morales, today deposited Guatemala’s instrument of ratification for the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters ("the Convention").

Viet Nam has become the 100th jurisdiction to join the Inclusive Framework on BEPS ("IF") on an equal footing with all other IF members, as announced by Mr. DANG NGOC Minh (Deputy General Director of the General Department of Taxation - GDT) at the third plenary meeting of the IF held on 21-22 June 2017 in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.

Over 200 delegates from 83 countries and jurisdictions as well as 12 international and regional organisations met in Noordvijk, The Netherlands, on 21-22 June 2017 for the Third Meeting of the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).

The Platform for Collaboration on Tax (PCT) – a joint initiative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), United Nations (UN) and World Bank Group – has published a toolkit to provide practical guidance to developing countries to better protect their tax bases.

Barbados has become the 101st jurisdiction to join the Inclusive Framework on BEPS (“IF”).

Today at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Mahess Rawoteea of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development of Mauritius, signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) in the presence of Douglas Frantz, OECD Deputy Secretary-General.

On 23 May 2017, interested parties were invited to provide comments on a discussion draft that provides guidance on the implementation of the approach to pricing transfers of hard-to-value intangibles described in Chapter VI of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

Fifty delegates representing 10 countries gathered in Cotonou (Benin) on 3-5 July 2017 for the second regional meeting of the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) for French speaking countries. These regional meetings offer participants from around the world the opportunity to provide their views and input to the Inclusive Framework on BEPS.

The Inclusive Framework welcomed Montserrat, bringing to 102 the total number of countries and jurisdictions participating on an equal footing in the Project.

The OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines provide guidance on the application of the “arm’s length principle”, which represents the international consensus on the valuation, for income tax purposes, of cross-border transactions between associated enterprises.

The OECD has just released the draft contents of the 2017 update to the OECD Model Tax Convention. Comments are requested at this time only with respect to certain parts of the 2017 update that have not previously been released for comments.

Today at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Alamine Ousmane Mey, Minister of Finances of Cameroon, signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) in the presence of Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax for Tax Policy and Administration.

The Inclusive Framework on BEPS has released additional guidance to give certainty to tax administrations and MNE Groups alike on the implementation of Country-by-Country (CbC) Reporting (BEPS Action 13).

Today, the OECD released a report on Neutralising the Effects of Branch Mismatch Arrangements (BEPS Action 2). This new report sets out recommendations for changes to domestic law that would bring the treatment of these branch mismatch structures into line with outcomes described in the 2015 Report.

The Platform for Collaboration on Tax – a joint initiative of the IMF, OECD, UN and World Bank Group – is seeking public feedback on a draft toolkit designed to help developing countries tackle the complexities of taxing offshore indirect transfers of assets, a practice by which multinational corporations try to minimise their tax liability.

Public comments received on the draft contents of the 2017 Update to the OECD Model Tax Convention

Today at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Nigeria signed two major multilateral instruments: the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) and the CRS Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement‎ (the CRS MCAA). Nigeria becomes the 71st jurisdiction to sign the MLI and the 94th jurisdiction to join the CRS MCAA.

Greenland, Cambodia, Madagascar and Haiti have joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes as its 143rd, 144th, 145th and 146th members.

The OECD's Inclusive Framework on BEPS has released two sets of guidance to give greater certainty to tax administrations and MNE Groups alike on the implementation and operation of Country-by-Country (CbC) Reporting (BEPS Action 13).

As part of the ongoing work of the Task Force on the Digital Economy (TFDE), the OECD is seeking public comments on key issues identified in a request for input related to the tax challenges raised by digitalisation and the potential options to address these challenges.

Tax administrations are playing a critical role as governments start implementing new international measures to counter offshore evasion and combat tax avoidance by multinational enterprises.

The visit launched a joint induction programme to assist Ukraine in the implementation of the new international standards, namely the BEPS package, and the standards for exchange of information on request and for the automatic exchange of financial account information (the “Common Reporting Standard”).

The Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) is the leading international body concerned with tax administration. The FTA, which brings together Tax Commissioners from 50 advanced and emerging tax administrations (including OECD and G20 countries), held its Plenary meeting in Oslo on 27-29 September.

On 16 October 2017, an OECD delegation met in Tbilisi the Georgian First Deputy Minister and Head of Georgia Revenue Service Giorgi Tabuashvili and Deputy Minister Lasha Khutsishvili to discuss the progress of the country in implementing the new international standards to combat tax avoidance and tax evasion.

80 delegates from 20 countries and 11 organisations gathered in Bratislava for the third regional meeting of the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region. This meeting belongs to a new series of regional events that offer participants from different regions in the world the opportunity to provide their views and input into the Inclusive Framework on BEPS.

Every worker and employer is directly affected by taxes on wages. Taxation is one of the principal ways we finance public services. It also helps us achieve important social objectives, such as redistributing wealth to address inequalities. But as the OECD’s annual Taxing Wages points out, tax policies on labour income may have an impact on individuals’ behaviour with respect to the labour market or their consumption habits.

On 22 September 2017, interested parties were invited to provide comments on the tax challenges of digitalisation. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the public comments received. A public consultation will be held on 1 November 2017 at the Univeristy of California, Berkeley.

The OECD will hold a public consultation event on the tax challenges of digitalisation on 1 November at the University of California, Berkeley, United States.

More than 200 global tax and economic crime experts have identified key areas for international action following the Fifth OECD Forum on Tax and Crime, in London. In a week dominated by media coverage of offshore issues, the Forum brought experts on tax, customs, anti-corruption, anti-money laundering, policing, and prosecution together to agree priorities for action.

Avoiding the potentially very high costs of climate change requires transitioning to a low carbon economy. Carbon pricing, in the form of emissions trading systems or taxes, helps to reduce emissions, but what is its role in driving the low carbon transition?

In the aftermath of the release of the “Paradise Papers”, 200 delegates from more than 90 delegations met in Yaoundé, Cameroon for the 10th meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes which now includes 147 countries and jurisdictions.

On 21 November 2017 the OECD Council approved the contents of the 2017 update to the OECD Model Tax Convention. The update will be incorporated in a revised version of the Model Tax Convention that will be published in the next few months.

On 28 November 2017, an OECD delegation met Bakhyt Sultanov, the Kazakhstan Minister of Finance, in Astana to launch an initiative to assist Kazakhstan in the implementation of the measures to tackle Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).

The Inclusive Framework on BEPS has released additional guidance to give certainty to tax administrations and MNE Groups alike on the implementation of Country-by-Country (CbC) Reporting (BEPS Action 13).

As part of continuing efforts to improve tax transparency and the international tax framework, the OECD has released the first analysis of individual countries' progress in spontaneously exchanging information on tax rulings in accordance with Action 5 of the BEPS package of measures released in October 2015.

On August 1st 2017, interested parties were invited to provide comments on the discussion draft of a toolkit on the Taxation of Offshore Indirect Transfers. The Platform for Collaboration on Tax is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the public comments received during the consultation period.

Today, at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, The Hon. Kevin Peter Turnquest, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of the Bahamas signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (“the Convention”) in the presence of OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria.

Today, Jersey deposited its instrument of ratification for the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting ("multilateral convention") with the OECD. Subsequently, on 20 December, Curaçao joined the multilateral convention.

The Common Reporting Standard (CRS), which is the basis for the automatic annual exchange of information on offshore financial accounts to the tax authorities of the residence country of account holders. At present, over 100 jurisdictions have publicly committed to implement the CRS, with half of them having started the exchange of CRS information in September and a further 53 set to follow in 2018.

Today, a further important step was taken to implement Country-by-Country (CbC) Reporting in accordance with the BEPS Action 13 minimum standard, through activations of automatic exchange relationships under the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of CbC Reports ("the CbC MCAA").

Ministers and high-level officials from Barbados, Côte d’Ivoire, Jamaica, Malaysia, Panama and Tunisia have today signed the BEPS Multilateral Convention bringing the total number of signatories to 78. This Convention updates the existing network of bilateral tax treaties and reduces opportunities for tax avoidance by multinational enterprises.