OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria has presented a report to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors that highlights measures to ensure that all taxpayers pay their fair share.

The Global Forum is looking for a Tax Policy Analyst

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.

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.

As a further sign of international efforts to crack down on tax offenders, 12 more countries have signed, or committed to sign, the OECD’s Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. In addition, another 6 countries have ratified the Convention.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, attended the Working Lunch of the G8 Summit and delivered the OECD report “A Step Change in Tax Transparency - Delivering a standardised, secure and cost effective model of bilateral automatic exchange for the multilateral context” and remarks on Trade, Tax, Transparency which are the key priorities of the UK G8 Presidency for the Summit.

The OECD has presented to G8 leaders the steps needed to create a fairer and more transparent global tax system.

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.

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.

OECD Secretary-General Gurría today presented to G20 Leaders ground-breaking proposals to tackle tax evasion and avoidance by both companies and individuals. The proposals establish automatic exchange of information for tax purposes as the new international standard for tax co-operation and set out the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), which was first presented to G20 Finance Ministers in Moscow in July 2013.

"Tax Policy Landscape Five Years after the Crisis" discusses how tax policies have responded to fiscal and macroeconomic developments over the past five years and these longer-term structural economic developments on. "Tax Reform in the People's Republic of China" compares the tax system in China with the tax system in OECD countries and the tax reforms China and OECD countries have implemented in the past.

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.

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.

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.

Most OECD governments use tax incentives to encourage businesses to invest in research and development (R&D) to boost innovation and drive economic growth. Others, like China, India and South Africa, are doing the same. But reforming these incentives would give countries a better return on their investment and support young innovative firms that play a crucial role in job creation, according to a new OECD report.

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.

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.

The OECD invites interested parties to send a short description of strategies that might be considered to result in the artificial avoidance of the permanent establishment status in relation to base erosion and profit shifting.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed today Chile’s recent steps to strengthen international tax co-operation.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed today Andorra’s steps to strengthen international tax co-operation, after it became the 60th signatory to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed today Hungary’s steps to strengthen international tax co-operation after it became the 61st signatory to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria welcomed today Liechtenstein’s announcement of plans to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and take further steps to increase transparency and international co-operation.

International efforts to combat tax evasion and avoidance got a boost today as additional countries and jurisdictions agreed to join more than 60 other countries in tax co-operation through a key multilateral tax instrument during the first day of a global meeting in Jakarta, Indonesia.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments and input on questions related to the tax challenges of the digital economy. The Committee invites interested parties to send their comments in response to this request for input before 22 December 2013.

The international community has taken new steps to strengthen transparency and boost the comprehensive exchange of information between governments worldwide.

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.

Tax revenues continue bouncing back from the low levels reported in almost all countries during 2008 and 2009, at the height of the global economic crisis, according to new OECD data in the annual Revenue Statistics publication. The average tax revenue to GDP ratio in OECD countries was 34.6% in 2012, compared with 34.1% in 2011 and 33.8% in 2010.

This case study describes the approach taken to reduce NOx emissions from combustion plants, the challenges encountered and the social, environmental and economic impacts. It concludes by discussing the wider lessons that are raised for other governments seeking to develop similar policy responses.

On 22 November 2013, a request for public comments on the tax challenges of the digital economy was launched. The OECD now publishes the comments received.

On 22 October 2013, the OECD requested interested parties to send a short description of strategies that might be considered to result in the artificial avoidance of PE status in relation to base erosion and profit shifting. The OECD has now published the only response received following that invitation.

Tax revenues in Latin American countries continue to rise but are lower as a proportion of their national incomes than in most OECD countries. Revenue Statistics in Latin America 2012 shows that Argentina and Brazil have the highest tax revenue to GDP ratio, while Guatemala and Dominican Republic stand at the lower end.

Interested parties are invited to comment on this paper prepared by the OECD in the context of revision to Chapter V of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

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.

On 15 November 2013, the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA) invited public comments on a discussion draft on changes to the provisions of the OECD Model Tax Convention dealing with the operation of ships and aircraft in international traffic. 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.

On 30 January 2014, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the Discussion Draft on transfer pricing documentation and country-by-country reporting. The OECD now publishes the comments received.

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.

This paper sets out four possible approaches to addressing the concerns over the lack of data on transfer pricing comparables expressed by developing countries.

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.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría has welcomed moves by more than 40 countries – reinforced by EU leaders - to commit to a detailed timetable to step up the fight against tax evasion.

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

On 24 March 2014, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the Discussion Draft on Tax Challenges of the Digital Economy related to Action 1 of the BEPS Action Plan. The OECD now publishes the comments received.

The international community continues making progress toward greater cooperation to ensure effective information exchange in tax matters. The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes issued today 12 new reports that highlight action being taken by jurisdictions to implement the international standard for exchange of information on request.

The shares of the richest 1% in total pre-tax income have increased in most OECD countries over the past three decades. This rise is the result of the top 1% capturing a disproportionate share of overall income growth over that timeframe: up to 37% in Canada and 47% in the United States, according to new OECD analysis.

Tax revenues are currently rising as a proportion of national incomes in Indonesia and Malaysia but continue to be substantially lower than for Korea, Japan and other OECD countries, according to a new OECD report.