India has ratified 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.

Public comments received on the proposed changes to the Commentary on Article 5 (Permanent Establishment) of the OECD Model Tax Convention.

Ms. Monica Bhatia has been appointed Head of the Secretariat of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. She will take up her duties on 1 April 2012.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has just completed peer reviews of 11 jurisdictions. This brings to 70 the number of peer review reports completed since March 2010.

The average tax and social security burden on employment incomes increased in 26 out of 34 OECD countries in 2011 according to the new OECD Taxing Wages publication. Tax payers in Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and the Slovak Republic were among those hit with the largest increases.

OECD invites comments on certain transfer pricing timing issues

OECD releases a discussion draft on the revision of the Safe Harbours section of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

OECD updates Multi-Country Analysis of Existing Transfer Pricing Simplification Measures

OECD Working Party No. 6 releases a discussion draft on the Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles

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.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on a revised discussion draft on the definition of “permanent establishment” that is included in Article 5 of the OECD Model Tax Convention.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on a revised discussion draft on tax treaty issues related to emissions permits/credits, which addresses the application of the provisions of the OECD Model Tax Convention to the cross-border granting and trading of emissions permits and credits.

On 6 June 2012, the OECD released an invitation to comment on a discussion draft on the Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles. The comments received in response to this invitation have been published. This edition replaces the previous edition released on 28 September 2012.

On 6 June 2012, the OECD released an invitation to comment on a discussion draft on the revision of the Safe Harbours Section in Chapter IV of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines. The comments received in response to this invitation have been published. This edition replaces the previous edition released on 28 September 2012.

On 6 June 2012, the OECD released an invitation to comment on a discussion draft on timing issues relating to transfer pricing. The comments received in response to this invitation have been published. This edition replaces the previous edition released on 28 September 2012.

Tax revenues in Latin American countries are lower as a proportion of their national incomes than in most OECD countries, but are rising slowly. Revenue Statistics in Latin America shows that the average tax revenue to GDP ratio in the 15 Latin American countries covered by the report increased from 19% in 2009 to 19.4% in 2010, after falling from a high point of 19.7% in 2008.

On 12-14 November 2012, transfer pricing experts from governments met with private sector representatives to discuss the transfer pricing discussion drafts released on 6 June 2012. The agenda for the meeting, presentation material submitted by private sector participants, and a list of participants have now been published.

News items following the meeting of the Forum on Tax Administration's Offshore Compliance Network in Tokyo

In several OECD countries, ongoing fiscal consolidation might have a negative impact on the static income distribution. However, this conclusion should be treated only as an approximate first step in the analysis.

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.

On 19 October 2012, the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs released for public comment a revised discussion draft on tax treaty issues related to emissions permits and credits. The OECD has now published the comments received on this revised discussion draft.

On 19 October 2012, the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs released for public comment a revised discussion draft on the definition of “permanent establishment” (Article 5) of the OECD Model Tax Convention. The OECD has now published the comments received on this revised discussion draft.

This book deals with two issues. The first concerns the various measurement of fiscal decentralization in general and their usefulness for policy analysis. The second and more specific issue concerns the taxonomy of intergovernmental grants and the limits of the current classifications.

Albania has become the 43rd country to sign the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

The fiscal and taxation reforms will be more than ever necessary in China to ensure that growth becomes more inclusive. So far, China has had a major success in reducing the poverty. But additional tax reforms will be needed to reduce further inequality in disposable income and across regions, as well as to help reduce the rural-urban divide.

New data show that across OECD countries the average tax and social security burden on employment incomes increased by 0.1 of a percentage point to 35.6 per cent in 2012. It increased in 19 out of 34 countries, fell in 14, and remained unchanged in 1.

The Steering Committee of the OECD Global Forum on Transfer Pricing publishes a Draft Handbook on Transfer Pricing Risk Assessment. This Handbook is intended to provide practical guidance to tax administrations in both OECD and non-OECD economies regarding the process of conducting transfer pricing risk assessments. Interested parties are invited to provide comments by 13 September 2013.

This fifth edition describes institutional setups, organisational arrangements and reforms, aspects of strategic management and human resource management, resources for tax administration, important areas of operational performance, the use of technology, and elements of the legislative and administrative framework for tax administration across the 52 economies covered by the series.

The Forum on Tax Administration - Tax Commissioners from 45 countries - has been meeting in Moscow for the past two days. And released this comuniqué.

The OECD Council has approved the revision of Section E on safe harbours in Chapter IV of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines. New guidance provides opportunities for countries to relieve some compliance burdens and to provide greater certainty for cases involving smaller taxpayers or less complex transactions. It encourages the use of bilateral or multilateral safe harbours and provides sample MOUs to establish bilateral safe harbours.

Morocco has signed the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a multilateral agreement developed jointly by the Council of Europe and the OECD. Morocco is the 45th country to sign the Multilateral Convention since it was updated to meet the international standard on transparency and exchange of information and opened for signature to all countries in June 2011.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on a discussion draft on the tax treaty treatment of various payments, such as non-competition payments, that may be made following the termination of an employment.

This study proposes a structured approach to selecting instruments of fiscal consolidation that are consistent with growth, equity and global-rebalancing objectives, which is then illustrated with a particular application.

The OECD today presented to G20 finance ministers plans for a two-pronged attack on tax avoidance and evasion from both companies and individuals.

The OECD released for public comment a Revised Discussion Draft on Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles. The Revised Discussion Draft updates and expands an earlier discussion draft released in June 2012 to reflect comments received and further discussions of country delegates to Working Party No. 6 of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs. Comments of interested persons are requested by 1 October 2013.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has released peer review reports assessing the tax systems of 13 jurisdictions for information exchange.

Following the recent invitations for public comment on four new draft elements of the OECD International VAT/GST Guidelines, the OECD has now published the comments received which will be used to inform the OECD’s work in this area.

On 30 April 2013, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the new Draft Handbook on Transfer Pricing Risk Assessment, produced by the Steering Committee of the OECD Global Forum on Transfer Pricing. The OECD now publishes the comments received.

This paper describes the features of the tax, recounts the story of its interplay between fiscal adjustment and helping meet the obligations to raise taxes, and implications for competitiveness and carbon leakage, environmental effectiveness and equity issues, and draws conclusions regarding why it happened, and provides tentative insights for other countries in a similar situation.

Switzerland has become the 58th country to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters during a ceremony at the OECD.

On 30 July 2013, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the White paper on Transfer Pricing Documentation, released as part of its project on transfer pricing simplification. The OECD now publishes the comments received.

On 30 July 2013, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the Revised Discussion Draft on Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles. The comments received in response to this invitation have been published.

This report looks at the issue of tax crime in the fisheries sector, including frauds over taxes on profit and earnings, customs duties, VAT and social security, with examples from real cases.

The OECD invites public comments on a discussion draft that includes proposed changes to the OECD Model Tax Convention dealing with the operation of ships and aircraft in international traffic.

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 25 June 2013, the OECD released for public comment a discussion draft on the tax treatment of various payments that may be made following the termination of an employment. The OECD has now published the comments received on this discussion draft.

Hundreds of thousands of elected sub-national governments worldwide provide services and levy taxes on residents and companies.

The timeline of the OECD/G20 BEPS Project is extremely ambitious, with the first outputs expected for September 2014 and the completion of the project by the end of 2015. Input from relevant stakeholders is essential as the BEPS Project moves forward to develop the measures envisaged in the BEPS Action Plan.

Senior tax policymakers and administrators from across the world are meeting this week in Marrakech to discuss how powers to set and collect taxes should be allocated across different levels of government to ensure accountability, efficiency and economic stability.