Twenty-eight officials participated in the inaugural “VAT/GST Fraud Investigations” course at the OECD Latin America Academy for Tax and Financial Crime Investigation last week in Buenos Aires.

The Global Forum held its annual meeting in Uruguay on 20-22 November, bringing together 220 delegates from 84 jurisdictions and 12 International organisations to strengthen further the international community’s fight against tax evasion. The meeting marked the widespread rollout of automatic exchange of financial account of information.

This week, in the margins of the 11th Global Forum meeting held in Punta del Este, Uruguay Minister of Economy and Finance Danilo Astori led a discussion with Ministers, high level representatives and officials from Latin America on the use of information exchange to combat tax fraud and corruption.

This new report shows that tax-to-GDP ratios fell in most of the 16 Asian and Pacific economies covered by the report between 2015-16 due to a combination of policy reforms and decreasing natural resource prices.

The Convention will enter into force for Jamaica on 1 March 2019 and will generally apply from 1 January 2020, although it may apply for earlier periods between signatories if agreed to and applies in relation to any period regarding criminal matters.

Today, Qatar signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the Convention), becoming the 85th jurisdiction to join the Convention, which now covers nearly 1,500 bilateral tax treaties.

Tax revenues in advanced economies have continued to increase, with taxes on companies and personal consumption representing an increasing share of total tax revenues, according to new OECD research.

The purpose of the CbC MCAA is to set forth rules and procedures as may be necessary for Competent Authorities of jurisdictions implementing BEPS Action 13 to automatically exchange CbC Reports prepared by the Reporting Entity of an MNE Group and filed on an annual basis with the tax authorities of the jurisdiction of tax residence of that entity with the tax authorities of all jurisdictions in which the MNE Group operates.

As part of continuing efforts to improve tax transparency, the Inclusive Framework on BEPS has now assessed 92 individual jurisdictions' progress in spontaneously exchanging information on tax rulings, in accordance with Action 5 of the OECD/G20 BEPS package.

OECD Deputy Secretary-General Ludger Schuknecht and Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, met today in Paris with Mr. Menno Snel, State Secretary for Finance in The Netherlands, for wide-ranging discussions on international co-operation in the field of taxation, notably as concerns tackling tax evasion.

Belize has signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS, becoming the 86th jurisdiction to join the Convention, which now covers almost 1500 bilateral tax treaties. Yesterday, Monaco deposited its instrument of ratification for the Convention with the OECD’s Secretary-General.

Today, the OECD, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and National Treasury of South Africa (National Treasury) signed a Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC), agreeing to continue to work together in the area of taxation. The MOC is in place until December 2023.

Further progress has been made by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS in implementation of BEPS measures against harmful tax practices (BEPS Action 5).

The international community has made important progress toward addressing the tax challenges arising from digitalisation of the economy and has agreed to continue working multilaterally towards achievement of a new consensus-based long-term solution in 2020, the OECD announced today.

Today, at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, H.E. Aichetou Mint M’Haiham, Ambassador of Mauritania to France, signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the Convention) in the presence of the OECD Deputy Secretary-General Ludger Schuknecht. Mauritania is the 127th jurisdiction to join the Convention.

Indonesia’s government needs more revenue to fund spending that can boost GDP growth, raise well-being and reduce poverty.

Progress continues with the implementation of the BEPS package, as the OECD releases additional peer review reports assessing countries’ efforts to implement the Action 6 and Action 14 minimum standards as agreed under the OECD/G20 BEPS Project.

On 5 March, Morocco and Cameroon launched a new TIWB South-South bilateral programme in Yaoundé. The programme, a first between two Francophone African countries, will see Moroccan tax audit experts providing support to Cameroon.

Today, the OECD and the United Arab Emirates signed a renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to extend their collaboration in providing regional seminars on international taxation For a further three year, to 2021.

The OECD welcomes France's new programme on co-operative compliance, announced today. Co-operative compliance is an initiative for promoting better tax compliance developed by the OECD Forum on Tax Administration.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum) published today seven peer review reports assessing compliance with the international standard on transparency and exchange of information on request (EOIR).

As part of OECD Integrity Week 2019 (18-22 March), this event will bring together international experts to discuss these issues of integrity, transparency and trust in the tax system, and the research, tools and approaches needed to identify and implement policies to increase tax morale.

This paper analyses the tax treatment of different employment forms for a set of eight countries: Argentina, Australia, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The analysis includes labour income taxes, capital income taxes, social contributions, and non-tax compulsory payments.

The average tax-to-GDP ratio in Latin America and the Caribbean rose to 22.8% in 2017, a gain of 0.2 percentage points from 2016, according to Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2019. The report finds that the rebound was primarily driven by Caribbean countries and in particular Guyana and Barbados, on the back of tax policy and administration reforms.

The Forum on Tax Administration (FTA), the 53 leading global tax administrations, met in Chile on 26-28 March and agreed an ambitious agenda focused on tax certainty, enhanced tax co-operation and the collective challenges of digital transformation.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has deposited its instrument of acceptance and Georgia has deposited its instrument of ratification for the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) with the OECD's Secretary-General, thus underlining its strong commitments to prevent the abuse of tax treaties and BEPS by multinational enterprises.

Today, at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, H.E. Sharlene Shillingford-McKlmon, Ambassador of Dominica to the European Union, signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the Convention). Dominica is the 128th jurisdiction to join the Convention.

Investment in intangible assets has become an increasingly important driver of productivity growth in OECD countries.

Distance-based charges can help sustain tax revenues and improve environmental and mobility outcomes as future vehicles rely less on fossil fuels. According to a new report, tax revenue from diesel and gasoline use in private cars is likely to decline substantially in the coming decades. This would put stress on government budgets, particularly in countries where fuel tax revenues represent a large share of total revenue.

The mission of the French High Commission for Pension Reform is to prepare the reform introducing a universal pension points system in France.

Today, Albania signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the Convention), becoming the 88th jurisdiction to join the Convention, which now covers almost 1,530 bilateral tax treaties.

International efforts to improve transparency via automatic exchange of information on financial accounts are improving tax compliance and delivering concrete results for governments worldwide, according to new data released today by the OECD.

This report contains two parts. Part I reports on the activities and achievements in the OECD’s international tax agenda. Part II reports on the activities and achievements of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría and Japan’s Minister of Finance Taro Aso presided today over a signing ceremony to establish a new centre of the OECD International Academy for Tax Crime Investigation in Wako, Japan.

Today, at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Slavica Savicic, State Secretary for Finance of the Republic of Serbia, signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the Convention) in the presence of the OECD Deputy Secretary-General Jeffrey Schlagenhauf. Serbia is the 129th jurisdiction to join the Convention.

The OECD is encouraging tax administrations around the globe to step up their efforts to support the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing with the launch of a handbook intended to raise the awareness of tax examiners, auditors, and investigators of the important role they can play in combatting these crimes.

The OECD has just released new transfer pricing country profiles for Chile, Finland and Italy, bringing the total number of countries covered to 55. In addition, the OECD has updated the information contained in the country profiles for Colombia and Israel.

The OECD has added new features to its MLI Matching Database. The database now includes information on entry into effect dates for matched agreements and the option to calculate entry into effect dates on the basis of anticipated dates of deposits. The expanded database also includes references to synthesised texts, if available.

Today, Morocco signed the BEPS MLI, becoming the 89th jurisdiction to join the Convention, which now covers almost 1,530 bilateral tax treaties. Mr. Mohamed Benchaaboun, Minister of Economy and Finance of Morocco signed the Convention in the presence of Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD.

In order to support the automatic exchange of information collected under the OECD’s Model Mandatory Disclosure Rules on Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Avoidance Arrangements and Opaque Offshore Structures (MDRs), the OECD has today released the international administrative and operational framework for the exchange of information collected under the MDRs.

This report contains two parts. Part I reports on the activities and achievements in the OECD’s international tax agenda. Part II reports on the activities and achievements of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

The Global Forum Secretariat is assisting Morocco in preparing for its second round of peer review aimed at assessing its compliance with the international standard of exchange of information on request.

The OECD and Brazil’s Receita Federal (RFB) issued a joint statement at the high-level event held on 11 July 2019 in Brasília, Brazil, to present the outcomes of the 15-month work programme carried out by OECD jointly with RFB.

Progress continues on implementing the BEPS Action 5 minimum standard, with a further 22 jurisdictions changing their laws to address harmful tax practices. On 19 July 2019, the Inclusive Framework on BEPS approved the latest results of reviews of jurisdictions’ domestic laws conducted by the OECD Forum on Harmful Tax Practices.

Tax-to-GDP ratios increased in the majority of Asian and Pacific economies covered by a new OECD report published today. Nine of the economies in the publication increased their tax-to-GDP ratios between 2016 and 2017, compared with only three in the preceding year, according to Revenue Statistics in Asian and Pacific Economies 2019.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes published today nine peer review reports assessing compliance with the international standard on transparency and exchange of information on request.

The work on BEPS Action 14 continues with today’s publication of the first round of stage 2 peer review monitoring reports, which consists of monitoring the follow-up of any recommendations resulting from jurisdictions' stage 1 peer review reports.

Guinea, Namibia and Honduras have joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, announcing their commitment to implement both the international standard of exchange of information on request and the standard on automatic exchange of financial account information.

Ecuador and Serbia have deposited their instruments of ratification for the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters therewith underlining their strong commitment to join international efforts against tax evasion and avoidance. The Convention will enter into force on 1 December 2019 for Ecuador and Serbia.

The OECD has released the outcomes of the second phase of peer reviews of the BEPS Action 13 Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting initiative, demonstrating strong progress in the implementation of a key element in continuing efforts to improve the taxation of multinational enterprises (MNEs) worldwide.