As part of the ongoing work of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS and its Task Force on the Digital Economy, the OECD will hold a public consultation event on the tax challenges of digitalisation on 13-14 March 2019.

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).

The fifth meeting of the OECD will take place in Melbourne, Australia in March 2019 and is expected to include representatives from over 100 countries across the globe together with officials from international organisations.

This report “A Beneficial Ownership Implementation Toolkit” – contains policy considerations that Global Forum member jurisdictions can use in implementing the legal and supervisory frameworks to identify and collect beneficial ownership information, which is now a requirement of the international tax transparency standards.

Meeting in Melbourne, Australia on 20-22 March 2019, around 300 participants attending the Global Forum on VAT, welcomed measures proposed in a new report by the OECD on The Role of Digital Platforms in the Collection of VAT/GST on Online Sales. The report includes new measures to make e-commerce marketplaces liable for the VAT/GST on sales made by online traders through their platforms.

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.

As part of the ongoing work on tax morale, the OECD is seeking public comments on itis forthcoming publication What is driving tax morale? An empirical analysis on social preferences and attitudes towards taxation.

Income tax and social security contributions declined slightly for the average worker across the OECD in 2018, driven by major reforms in a handful of countries, according to a new OECD report.

On 10 April 2019, interested parties were invited to provide comments on its forthcoming publication "What is driving tax morale? An empirical analysis on social preferences and attitudes towards taxation". The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the public comments received.

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.

On 29 May 2019, the UAE deposited its instrument of ratification for the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (multilateral convention or MLI) with the OECD’s Secretary-General, therewith underlining its strong commitment to prevent the abuse of tax treaties and BEPS by multinational enterprises. For the UAE, the MLI will enter into force on 1 September 2019.

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 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.

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.

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.

The OECD is now gathering input for the Stage 1 peer reviews of Andorra, Anguilla, Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Faroe Islands, Macau (China), Morocco and Tunisia, and invites taxpayers to submit input on specific MAP-related issues by 12 August 2019.

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.

Tax Policy Reforms 2019 describes the latest tax reforms across all OECD countries, as well as in Argentina, Indonesia and South Africa. The report identifies major tax policy trends and highlights that fewer countries have introduced comprehensive tax reform packages in 2019 compared to previous years.

Tax Morale: What Drives People and Businesses to Pay Tax? assesses the various drivers behind voluntary compliance with tax obligations, particularly in developing countries where issues of governance are more acute.

TIWB will release its Annual Report 2018/19 on Tuesday, 24 September 2019 at 12:00 EST/18:00 CEST.

Taxing polluting sources of energy is an effective way to curb emissions that harm the planet and human health, and the income generated can be used to ease the low-carbon transition for vulnerable households. Yet 70% of energy-related CO2 emissions from advanced and emerging economies are entirely untaxed, offering little incentive to move to cleaner energy, according to a new OECD report.

The international community has made important progress in improving developing countries’ ability to tax multinational enterprises and boost domestic revenue mobilisation. A leading element of international co-operation efforts is the Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) initiative - a joint OECD/UNDP programme launched in July 2015 to strengthen developing countries’ auditing capacity and multinationals’ compliance worldwide.

The Platform for Collaboration on Tax – a joint initiative of the IMF, OECD, UN and World Bank Group – is seeking feedback from the public on a draft toolkit designed to help developing countries in the implementation of effective transfer pricing documentation requirements.

This report by the OECD Secretary-General provides an overview of the progress made by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS in addressing the tax challenges of digitalisation and a brief update on the work on tax transparency.

As part of the ongoing work of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS (the Inclusive Framework), the OECD is seeking public comments on a Secretariat Proposal for a "Unified Approach" under Pillar One.

Over 70 delegates from 14 countries, as well as international and regional organisations, business, and civil society gathered in Baku, Azerbaijan on 8-10 October 2019 for the Fifth Regional Meeting on BEPS for Eurasian Countries.

Over 50 delegates from 13 African countries, as well as international and regional organisations, technical co-operation agencies, Senegalese business, civil society and academia gathered in Saly, Senegal, on 15-17 October 2019 for the Third Regional Meeting on BEPS for Francophone Countries.

The work on BEPS Action 14 continues with today's publication of the sixth round of stage 1 peer review reports. Each report assesses a country's efforts to implement the Action 14 minimum standard as agreed to under the OECD/G20 BEPS Project.

Jordan joins the international fight against tax evasion by becoming the 158th member of the Global Forum.

Today, Bosnia and Herzegovina signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the Convention), becoming the 90th jurisdiction to join the Convention, which now covers over 1 600 bilateral tax treaties.

As part of BEPS Action 5 to curb harmful tax practices, jurisdictions may only maintain preferential regimes if certain "substantial activities" requirements are met. In order to ensure a level playing field, these requirements must also apply to jurisdictions with zero or only nominal tax rates.

The OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS has released additional interpretative guidance to give greater certainty to tax administrations and MNE Groups on the implementation and operation of Country-by-Country (CbC) Reporting (BEPS Action 13).

As part of the ongoing work of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS, the OECD secretariat is seeking public comments on certain aspects of the Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Proposal under Pillar Two.

The Global Forum published today eight peer review reports assessing compliance with the international standard on transparency and exchange of information on request (EOIR).

On 9 October 2019, interested parties were invited to provide comments on a number of policy issues and technical aspects in respect to the Secretariat Proposal for a "Unified Approach" under Pillar One. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the public comments received.

The OECD is now gathering input for the Stage 1 peer reviews of Andorra, Aruba, Bahrain, Barbados, Gibraltar, Greenland, Kazakhstan, Oman, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates and Viet Nam, and invites taxpayers to submit input on specific MAP-related issues by 16 December 2019.