Drawing on data presented in the 2017 OECD Business and Finance Outlook, this article looks at some of the forces influencing recent economic developments and asks what can be done to ensure a “fairer” global economy.

OECD releases a discussion draft on the revision of the Safe Harbours section of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

The OECD's Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA) invites public comments on the draft Commentary on the International VAT Neutrality Guidelines. This draft Commentary provides guidance on the practical implementation of the six International VAT Neutrality Guidelines approved by the CFA in July 2011. Public comments should be sent before 26 September 2012 to vat@oecd.org.

In several OECD countries, ongoing fiscal consolidation might have a negative impact on the static income distribution. However, this conclusion should be treated only as an approximate first step in the analysis.

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.

This study proposes a structured approach to selecting instruments of fiscal consolidation that are consistent with growth, equity and global-rebalancing objectives, which is then illustrated with a particular application.

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.

The governments of 86 countries have taken a key step towards preventing value added tax from weighing on trade while also safeguarding state revenues by endorsing the first internationally agreed framework for applying national VAT rules to cross-border transactions.

Action 10 of the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting directs the OECD to develop transfer pricing rules to provide protection against common types of base eroding payments. A discussion draft of proposed modifications to Chapter VII of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines relating to low value-adding intra-group services was released for comment by interested parties today

The OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on two new draft elements of the OECD International VAT/GST Guidelines (the Guidelines). These discussion drafts relate 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).

Public comments are invited on this discussion draft which deals with work in relation to Actions 8,9, and 10 of the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).

On 3 November 2014, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the discussion draft of proposed modifications to Chapter VII of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines covering low value-adding intra-group services relating to Action 10 of the BEPS Action plan.

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 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)

On 23 May 2016, the OECD Council approved the amendments to the Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations ("Transfer Pricing Guidelines"), as set out in the 2015 BEPS Report on Actions 8-10 "Aligning Transfer Pricing Outcomes with Value Creation" and the 2015 BEPS Report on Action 13 "Transfer Pricing Documentation and Country-by-Country Reporting".

Today the OECD has taken a new step in its continuing efforts to boost transparency in international tax matters with the release of guidance on the implementation of country-by-country (CbC) reporting.

The four organisations, working jointly as the members of the new Platform for Collaboration on Tax have developed a series of recommendations and enabling actions which are laid out in this draft summary document. The Platform organisations seek comments from interested stakeholders on these recommendations by 8 July 2016.

Interested parties are invited to review the conforming changes to Chapter IX of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines, "Transfer Pricing Aspects of Business Restructurings."

Public comments are invited on discussion drafts on "Attribution of Profits to Permanent Establishments" which deals with work in relation to BEPS Action 7 and on the "Revised Guidance on Profit Splits" which deals with work in related to BEPS Actions 8-10 of the OECD/G20 BEPS Action Plan.

G20 Finance Ministers, in their communique of February 2016, called upon the IMF, OECD, UN and World Bank Group to “recommend mechanisms to help ensure effective implementation of technical assistance programmes, and recommend how countries can contribute funding for tax projects and direct technical assistance, and report back with recommendations” at their July meeting.

On 4 July 2016, interested parties were invited to review the conforming amendments to Chapter IX of the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines, "Transfer Pricing Aspects of Business Restructurings". The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the comments received.

Public comments have been received on the BEPS discussion drafts on the Attribution of Profits to Permanent Establishments and the Revised Guidance on Profit Splits.

This paper explores the practical challenges tax policy analysts face when trying to apply differential taxation to “normal” and “excess” returns. The distinction between these two elements is being increasingly used in tax policy. The problem is that there is no clear definition for a “normal” return.

The Inclusive Framework on BEPS has released two new documents to support the global implementation of Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting (BEPS Action 13).

Today, the OECD released an updated version of the BEPS Action 4 Report (Limiting Base Erosion Involving Interest Deductions and Other Financial Payments), which includes further guidance on two areas: the design and operation of the group ratio rule, and approaches to deal with risks posed by the banking and insurance sectors.

To further support the consistent implementation of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the OECD today released a series of additional CRS-related Frequently Asked Questions; and the second edition of the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters.

In many OECD countries, student debt is rising, and in many others, public debts are persistently high. How can policy makers decide on the right financing mix for students and governments? This is where taxes have an important role to play. In a nutshell, delivering educational services will depend on taxes, and good tax income will depend on good educational services.

The Inclusive Framework on BEPS has released additional guidance to provide essential information that will give certainty to tax administrations and MNE Groups alike on implementation of Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting (BEPS Action 13).

Public comments are invited on a discussion draft which provides guidance on the implementation of the approach to pricing transfers of hard-to-value intangibles described in Chapter VI of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

On 23 May 2017, interested parties were invited to provide comments on a discussion draft that provides guidance on the implementation of the approach to pricing transfers of hard-to-value intangibles described in Chapter VI of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

The OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines provide guidance on the application of the “arm’s length principle”, which represents the international consensus on the valuation, for income tax purposes, of cross-border transactions between associated enterprises.

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

The OECD's Inclusive Framework on BEPS has released two sets of guidance to give greater certainty to tax administrations and MNE Groups alike on the implementation and operation of Country-by-Country (CbC) Reporting (BEPS Action 13).

This guidance will support the consistent implementation of internationally agreed standards for the VAT treatment of cross-border trade and is of particular relevance given the rapid and ongoing digitalisation of the economy.

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

Today the OECD is releasing a consultation document seeking stakeholder input on model mandatory disclosure rules. The model rules target promoters and service providers with a material involvement in the design, marketing or implementation of a CRS avoidance arrangements or offshore structure. They would require such intermediaries to disclose information on the scheme to their local tax authority.

On 11 December 2017, interested parties were invited to provide comments on a discussion draft on model mandatory disclosure rules. The model rules are intended to target promoters and service providers with a material involvement in the design, marketing or implementation of CRS avoidance arrangements or offshore structures.

This paper presents statutory tax rates on several forms of capital income, including dividends, interest on bonds and bank accounts, and capital gains on shares and real property, including integration between the corporate and personal levels. It updates the rates from an earlier tax working paper and extends the analysis to consider the debt-equity bias of the tax system when the personal level of taxation is considered.

The additional guidance resulting sets out high-level general principles, which countries agree are relevant and applicable in attributing profits to PEs in accordance with applicable treaty provisions. It also provides examples on the attribution of profits to certain types of PEs arising from the changes to the PE definition under BEPS Action 7.

Public comments are invited on the future revision of Chapter IV, “Administrative Approaches to Avoiding and Resolving Transfer Pricing Disputes” of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines, and the future revision of Chapter VII, “Special Considerations for Intra-Group Services”, of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

Today, the OECD released two reports containing Guidance for Tax Administrations on the Application of the Approach to Hard-to-Value Intangibles under BEPS Action 8; and Revised Guidance on the Application of the Transactional Profit Split Method under BEPS Action 10.

Public comments received on the scope of the future revisions of Chapter IV (Administrative Approaches) and Chapter VII (Intra-group services) of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines

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

The OECD and Papua New Guinea's Internal Revenue Commission agreed today to gear up efforts to tackle tax base erosion and profit shifting by multinational enterprises in Papua New Guinea, through participation in the OECD/UNDP Tax Inspectors Without Borders initiative.

This new guidance presents a clear overview of the modifications to tax treaties resulting from the Multilateral BEPS Convention which entered into force on 1 July 2018. A Secretariat note, also released today, clarifies the entry into effect rules for tax treaties of jurisdictions that deposited their ratification instruments last September.

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

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.

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.

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).