A public consultation on BEPS Action 14 (Make dispute resolution mechanisms more effective) is scheduled to be held in Paris at the OECD Conference Centre on 23 January 2015.

Third Annual Conference on the theme of "Fiscal Policies and the Green Economy Transition: Generating Knowledge – Creating Impact" held at the University of Venice from 29 through 30 January 2015. The press release is available.

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 19 December 2014, interested parties were invited to comment on the discussion draft on Actions 8, 9 and 10: revisions to Chapter I of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines (Including risk, recharacterisation and special measures) of the BEPS Action Plan. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the comments received.

On 16 December 2014, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on a discussion draft on the use of profit splits in the context of global value chains. This work relates to Action 10 of the BEPS Action Plan. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input, and now publishes the comments received.

On 16 December 2014, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on a discussion draft on the transfer pricing aspects of cross-border commodity transactions. This work relates to Action 10 of the BEPS Action Plan. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input, and now publishes the comments received.

On 18 December 2014, interested parties were invited to comment on the discussion draft on Action 4 (Interest Deductions and other Financial Payments) of the BEPS Action Plan. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the comments received.

Following the release of the Strategy for Deepening Developing Country Engagement in the BEPS Project in November 2014, the Asia-Pacific Regional Network on BEPS held its meeting on 12 - 13 February 2015 in Seoul.

A public consultation on BEPS Action Item 4 (Interest deductions and other financial payments) was held in Paris at the OECD Conference Centre on 17 February 2015.

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)

After the March 2014 meeting in Paris and following the release of the Strategy for Deepening Developing Country Engagement in the BEPS Project in November 2014, French-speaking countries met on 27 February 2015 in Libreville, Gabon.

Following the release of the Strategy for Deepening Developing Country Engagement in the BEPS Project in November 2014, the Latin America and the Caribbean Regional Network on BEPS held its meeting on 26 - 27 February 2015 in Lima.

Following the recent meetings of regional policy networks on BEPS in South East Asia (Korea 12-13 February), francopohone countries (Gabon, 27 February) and Latin America and the Caribbean (Peru, 26-27 February) a regional network meeting in Eastern Europe and Central Asia was held in Ankara, Turkey on 5-6 March.

The Slovak Republic was among the fastest growing OECD economies in the last decade. It is broadly recognised that the 2004 tax reform contributed to this success. Ten years after this fundamental reform, however, the time has come to re-evaluate some of the key characteristics of the Slovak tax system.

This paper provides an update of the indicators that measure the tax autonomy of sub-central governments in OECD countries. Over the last decade, tax autonomy at the state level increased, while it hardly changed at the local level. The OECD now has tax autonomy indicators for the years 1995, 2002, 2005, 2008 and 2011.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes published today 9 new peer review reports, including a Phase 1 Supplementary Report for Switzerland, demonstrating continuing progress toward implementation of the international standard for exchange of information on request.

The OECD Secretary-General Gurría welcomed the announcement and congratulated the Commission for the work done. "The European Commission’s initiative is another major step to tackle corporate tax avoidance.

The OECD will hold a public consultation event on transfer pricing matters on 19-20 March 2015 at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris, France.

Public comments are invited on a discussion draft which deals with action 12 (Mandatory Disclosure Rules) of the BEPS Action Plan.

Taxes on wages have risen by about 1 percentage point for the average worker in OECD countries between 2010 and 2014 even though the majority of governments did not increase statutory income tax rates, according to a new OECD report.

Public Comments are invited on a discussion draft which deals with Action 11 (Improving the analysis of BEPS) of the BEPS Action Plan.

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

On 31 March 2015, interested parties were invited to comment on the discussion draft on Action 12 (Mandatory Disclosure Rules) of the BEPS Action Plan. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the comments received.

On 3 April 2015, interested parties were invited to comment on the discussion draft on Action 3 (Strengthening CFC Rules) of the BEPS Action Plan. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the comments received.

On 16 April 2015, interested parties were invited to comment on the discussion draft on Action 11 (Data Analysis) of the BEPS Action Plan. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and is now publishing the comments received.

Public comments are invited on a new discussion draft which includes proposals resulting from the work on Action 7 (Prevent the Artificial Avoidance of PE Status) of the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).

Public comments are invited on a new discussion draft which includes proposals on how to deal with the follow-up work on Action 6 (Prevent Treaty Abuse) of the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes published today new peer review reports for the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan and Morocco.

Governments are working together in order to try to address a lot of issues that need to be addressed. There is a real and coordinated effort in order to obtain a better level of transparency. Its objectives are quite ambitious. Greater transparency can be a move in a positive direction.

El Salvador signed today the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, becoming the 86th signatory to the most comprehensive instrument for boosting international co-operation against offshore tax evasion.

The OECD’s Annual Meeting at Ministerial Level reinforced member governments’ support across a broad range of key OECD work.

Public comments are invited on a discussion draft which deals with work in relation to Action 8 of the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting

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.

On 15 May 2015, interested parties were invited to comment on a revised discussion draft on Action 7 (Prevent the Artificial Avoidance of PE Status) of the BEPS Action Plan.

On 22 May 2015, interested parties were invited to comment on a revised discussion draft which includes proposals on how to deal with the follow-up work on Action 6 (Prevent treaty abuse) of the BEPS Action Plan.

On 4 June 2015, interested parties were invited to comment on a discussion draft on Action 8 (Hard-to-value intangibles) of the BEPS Action Plan.

Proposals to increase environmentally related taxes are often challenged on competitiveness grounds. The concern is that value creation in certain sectors might decline domestically if a country introduces environmentally related taxes unilaterally. This paper provides evidence on the short-term competitiveness impacts of the German electricity tax introduced unilaterally in 1999.

In line with the international movement towards more transparency and exchange of information, Mauritius has taken a significant step to enhance its exchange of information legal framework and has signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

Governments are under-utilising taxation as a tool to curb the environmental consequences of energy use, foregoing revenue and weakening their attack on the principal source of greenhouse gas emissions responsible for climate change and air pollution, according to new OECD analysis.

The International Tax Dialogue (ITD) is organising its 6th global conference at the OECD. This year’s conference will focus on Tax and the Environment, an issue of growing importance and of direct relevance in the lead up to the COP21 meeting taking place later in the year. The ITD is a joint initiative of the EC, IDB, IMF, OECD, World Bank and CIAT.

Concerns around potential losses of competitiveness as a result of unilateral action on carbon pricing are often central for policy makers contemplating the introduction of such instruments. This paper is a review of literature on ex post empirical evaluations of the impacts of carbon prices on indicators of competitiveness as employed in the literature, including employment, output or exports, at different levels of aggregation.

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.

The OECD is holding three tax events on the side-lines of the 3rd International Conference on Financing for Development in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes published new peer review reports today for 12 countries or jurisdictions, moving further ahead with its goal to implement global standards on transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.

The OECD today releases three new reports to help jurisdictions and financial institutions implement the global Standard for automatic exchange of financial account information.

Tax administrations continue to face the challenges of improving their performance while reducing costs, decreasing compliance burdens for taxpayers tackling non-compliance. Improving taxpayer services, while making non-compliance harder, is helping revenue bodies increase their efficiency and allowing governments to finance important programmes that will further benefit their citizens.

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.

Vast amounts are lost to illicit financial flows, including tax evasion, money laundering, bribery and corruption. These crimes threaten the strategic, political and economic interests of both developed and developing countries. In a world of limited resources and increasing complexity, it is essential for government authorities to work closely together in a “whole of government” approach to best address these challenges.