Article about OECD work with international partners to eradicate tax evasion and tax avoidance, published in G7 Brussels Summit magazine, June 2014

Andorra has become the 48th signatory to an OECD Declaration that commits countries to end bank secrecy for tax purposes.

Cameroon has become the 65th signatory of the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, the most powerful international instrument to fight international tax avoidance and evasion.

Gabon has signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters at a ceremony today at the OECD. Gabon is the seventh African country to sign the Convention since it was opened for signature to all countries in June 2011.

Company cars form a large proportion of the car fleet in many OECD countries and are also influential in determining the composition of the wider vehicle fleet. When employees provided with a company car use that car for personal purposes, personal income tax rules value the benefit in a number of different ways.

Diesel and gasoline account for around 95% of energy used for road transport in the OECD and for the largest share of revenue from taxes on energy. In 33 out of 34 OECD countries, diesel fuel is taxed at lower rates than gasoline both in terms of energy and carbon content.

The OECD Council approved yesterday the contents of the 2014 update to the OECD Model Tax Convention. The update will be incorporated in a revised version of the Model Tax Convention that will be published in the next few months.

Taking an important step towards greater transparency and putting an end to banking secrecy in tax matters, the OECD today released the full version of a new global standard for the exchange of information between jurisdictions.

At the G20’s request, the OECD is leading the development of a strategy to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The Development Working Group has asked the OECD to draw together the experiences of developing countries and international organisations in a report on the main sources of BEPS in developing countries and how these relate to the OECD/G20 BEPS Action Plan on this issue.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes published today 13 new peer review reports demonstrating progress toward implementation of the international standard for exchange of information on request. The Global Forum also issued compliance ratings for 10 jurisdictions.

Public comments are invited on request for input on BEPS Action 11 regarding work on establishing methodologies to collect and analyse data on BEPS and the actions to address it.

Heads of tax crime investigation in 44 countries, as well as the Financial Action Task Force and World Customs Organisation, have come together this week at Europol Headquarters in the Hague for the second meeting of the OECD Forum of Heads of Tax Crime Investigation.

The OECD released today its first recommendations for a co-ordinated international approach to combat tax avoidance by multinational enterprises, under the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project designed to create a single set of international tax rules to end the erosion of tax bases and the artificial shifting of profits to jurisdictions to avoid paying tax.

The OECD has been mandated by the G20 to develop toolkits to support developing countries addressing base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) and to launch pilot tests to assist them to move towards automatic exchange of information.

As the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) approach their expiry date, we must focus our efforts on ensuring a brighter, more inclusive and sustainable future for all. We face a plethora of common issues: growing inequalities; changing consumption patterns and population dynamics; increasing natural resource scarcity; and ongoing illicit financial flows.

Almost 300 senior tax officials from more than 100 countries and international organisations met in Paris on 25-26 September 2014 during the 19th Annual Global Forum on Tax Treaties to discuss solutions to unintended double non-taxation caused by base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

Advanced economies are pushing up carbon emissions, traffic congestion and air pollution by under-taxing company cars and diesel fuel, according to new OECD research.

This paper reviews the use of tax preferences to achieve environmental policy objectives. Tax preferences involve using the tax system to adjust relative prices with a view to influencing producer or consumer behaviour in favour of goods or services that are considered to be environmentally beneficial.

On 4 August 2014, interested parties were invited to comment on BEPS Action 11 regarding work on establishing methodologies to collect and analyse data on BEPS and the actions to address it. Comments received have now been published.

The 34-member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development welcomed a Memorandum of Understanding between the OECD and Ukraine which will help Ukraine’s efforts to tackle corruption, strengthen its tax system and promote competitiveness.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed today the Principality of Monaco’s commitment to strengthen international tax co-operation after it became the 84th jurisdiction participating in the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

The Ninth Meeting of the OECD Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) met in Dublin, Ireland on 23-24 October to discuss the implementation of the BEPS Project and automatic exchange of information.

This page shows a full table of comments received from the public on the Interim Draft Paper on Transfer Pricing Comparability Data and Developing Countries.

The new OECD/G20 standard on automatic exchange of information was endorsed today by all OECD and G20 countries as well as major financial centres participating in the annual meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes in Berlin. A status report on committed and not committed jurisdictions will be presented to G20 leaders during their annual summit in Brisbane, Australia on November 15-16.

The Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA) invites interested parties to send comments on this discussion draft, which includes the preliminary results of the work carried on with respect to issues related to the artificial avoidance of PE status and includes proposals for changes to the definition of permanent establishment found in the OECD Model Tax Convention.

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 released today its new Strategy for Deepening Developing Country Engagement in the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project, which will strengthen their involvement in the decision-making processes and bring them to the heart of the technical work.

The G20 needs to go structural, social, and green! With fiscal and monetary policy room nearly exhausted, structural reforms are the best choices, sometimes the only choice. The OECD battle cry in this regard has been unchanged since 2008: “go structural!”.

Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD congratulated the newly elected President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo, for taking a bold first step in his economic reform agenda by substantially cutting fuel subsidies.

Switzerland has today become the 52nd jurisdiction to sign the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, which will allow it to go forward with plans to activate automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters with other countries beginning in 2018.

Public comments are invited on a discussion draft which deals with follow-up work mandated by the Report on Action 6 (“Prevent the granting of treaty benefits in inappropriate circumstances”) of the BEPS Action Plan.

The OECD has released statistics on the MAP caseloads of OECD member countries and certain Partner economies for the 2013 reporting period.

Tax burdens and revenue collection in advanced economies are reaching record levels not seen since before the global financial crisis, but the tax mix continues varying widely across countries, according to new OECD research published today.

On 10-11 December, officials from fourteen developing countries discussed ways to maximise benefits from their recent commitment to enhanced engagement in the BEPS Project.

Public comments are invited on the discussion draft on the use of profit splits in the context of global value chains, released as part of the work in relation to Action 10 of the BEPS Action Plan.

Public comments are invited on the discussion draft on the Transfer Pricing aspects of cross-border Commodity transactions released as part of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy's work on Action 10 of the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.

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 a discussion draft which deals with action 4 (Interest deductions and other financial payments) of the BEPS Action Plan

Public comments are invited on a discussion draft which deals with the work on Action 14 (“Make dispute resolution mechanisms more effective”) of the BEPS Action Plan.

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 31 October 2014, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the discussion draft on Action 7 (Prevent the Artificial Avoidance of PE Status) of the BEPS Action Plan. The OECD now publishes the comments received.

On 21 November 2014, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the discussion draft on Action 6 (Prevent treaty abuse) of the BEPS Action Plan. The OECD now publishes the comments received.

The Colombian economy has done remarkably well over the last decade, consistently ranking among the fastest-growing countries in Latin America, but a comprehensive tax reform that promotes investment and diversifies the economy is now needed to put the country on a path toward stronger, sustainable and inclusive growth, according to the latest OECD Economic Survey of Colombia.

On 18 December 2014, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the discussion draft on Action 14 (Make dispute resolution mechanisms more effective) of the BEPS Action Plan. The OECD now publishes the comments received.

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.

A public consultation on BEPS Action 7 (Prevent the Artificial Avoidance of PE Status) is scheduled to be held in Paris at the OECD Conference Centre on 21 January 2015.

A public consultation on follow-up work on BEPS Action 6 (Prevent treaty abuse) is scheduled to be held in Paris at the OECD Conference Centre on 22 January 2015.

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.