China signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters at a ceremony today at the OECD. All G20 countries have now fulfilled the commitment they made at the Cannes G20 Summit to sign the Convention and move towards automatic exchange of information as the new, global standard.

Building an international tax system that is transparent, efficient and fair, will serve our economies, our governments and our citizens, said OECD Secretary-General at the G20 summit in St. Petersburg.

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.

Vast amounts of money are kept off-shore and go untaxed. The more we do to combat tax fraud and evasion, the more resources we will have to finance growth-enhancing public investment, restore the health of public finances, and put the euro area economy back on a sustained and long-term recovery, said OECD Secretary-General.

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.

The OECD will hold a public consultation on the Revised Discussion Draft on Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles and the White Paper on Transfer Pricing Documentation on 12-13 November 2013 at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris, France. The public consultation will also consider other transfer pricing elements of the 19 July 2013 Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

The OECD’s Task Force on Tax and Development met in Seoul, on 30-31 October 2013. Governments, international and regional organisations, civil society and business representatives reviewed progress made since the previous meeting and explored further ways to help developing countries better mobilise their domestic resources.

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.

Today, the OECD held a public consultation on transfer pricing topics at the OECD headquarters in Paris. The meeting was attended by delegates from more than 35 countries and by more than 150 representatives of business, academia, civil society and the press.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Kazakhstan has become the 64th signatory of the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, the most powerful international instrument to fight international tax avoidance and evasion.

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.

We need to fight distortions to competition that can arise from tax avoidance, just like we do from other forms of government intervention, such as regulation, said OECD Secretary-General.

Offshore tax evasion remains a serious problem for countries and jurisdictions worldwide, with vast amounts of funds deposited abroad and sheltered from taxation when taxpayers fail to comply with obligations in their home countries.

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.

Over 330 senior tax officials from more than 110 jurisdictions and international organisations met in Paris on 26-28 March 2014 during the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Global Forum on Transfer Pricing.

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