The OECD has released a discussion draft which deals with the design and operation of the group ratio rule under BEPS Action 4 and the standardised IT-format for the exchange of tax rulings between jurisdictions under BEPS Action 5. It also announced that Angola has become the 83rd member of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS.

The OECD has today released its standardised IT-format for providing structured feedback on exchanged Common Reporting Standard information – the CRS Status Message XML Schema – as well as the related User Guide.

The OECD welcomes Panama’s decision to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, which was formally communicated to the OECD in a letter from its Vice President and announced publicly on Friday 15 July 2016.

Israel’s growing population and rising incomes have seen consumption increase substantially, bringing with it considerable pressure on the environment. One of the main environmental pressures is from the ever-increasing transport activity, especially the use of private vehicles. Although travelling in a private vehicle brings benefits to the individual using it, this entails costs to society as a whole.

Following a request of the Italian Minister of Economy and Finance Pier Carlo Padoan, the OECD has carried out a review of the organisational structure and institutional arrangements of Italy’s tax administration, with a focus on the Agenzia delle Entrate and the Agenzia delle Dogane e dei Monopoli. The review also highlights certain critical issues related to tax compliance and collection which emerged in the course of the work.

Governments should use tax policy to drive forward economic agendas that seek to boost growth while sharing the benefits more evenly within society, according to a new OECD report.

This report consists of two parts. Part I is a report by the OECD Secretary-General regarding (A) the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project; (B) Tax transparency; (C) Tax policy tools to support sustainable and inclusive growth; and (D) Tax and development. Part II is an updated Progress Report to the G20 by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

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.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum) published today 10 new peer review reports demonstrating continuing progress toward implementation of the international standard for exchange of information on request.

Interested parties are invited to provide comments on a discussion draft which deals approaches to address BEPS involving interest in the banking and insurance sectors under Action 4 (Interest deductions and other financial payments) of the BEPS Action Plan.

Today, Kuwait joined the 83 current signatories to the CRS Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement ("CRS MCAA"), the key international framework agreement for putting in place the automatic exchange of information on offshore financial accounts foreseen by the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS).

Liechtenstein today deposited its instrument of ratification for the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters ("the Convention"). By doing so, Liechtenstein underlines its commitment to fighting tax evasion and avoidance and takes another important step in implementing the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters developed by the OECD and G20 countries.

Interested parties are invited to provide comments on a discussion draft which deals with branch mismatch structures under Action 2 (Neutralising the Effects of Hybrid Mismatch Arrangements) of the BEPS Action Plan.

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.

OECD publishes comments received on the discussion draft on the elements of the design and operation of the group ratio rule under Action 4.

In a ceremony at OECD Headquarters in Paris today, Burkina Faso, Malaysia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Samoa signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, bringing the number of participating jurisdictions to 103.

This report consists of two parts. Part I is a report by the OECD Secretary-General regarding (A) the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project; (B) Tax transparency; (C) Tax policy tools to support sustainable and inclusive growth; and (D) Tax and development. Part II is a Progress Report to the G20 by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

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.

Fiscal incentives, including tax policies, should be directed at specific barriers, impediments or synergies to facilitate the desired level of investment in R&D and innovations. Without careful design, policies can have unintended consequences such as favouring incumbent firms, encouraging small firms to undertake less efficient activities, or creating arbitrage and rent-seeking activity.

Today, at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Minister of Finance of Pakistan, signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

The OECD publishes comments received on the discussion draft on approaches to address BEPS involving interest in the banking and insurance sectors under Action 4.

While fiscal consolidation was the key driver of tax reforms in the years+33 following the global economic crisis, the main emphasis of recent tax reforms has shifted back to tax measures aimed at boosting economic growth, according to a new OECD report.

Across the OECD, GDP per capita is converging. In contrast, regional disparities – or differences in GDP per capita across jurisdictions – are rising, mainly as a result of widening productivity differences. Fiscal decentralisation could help reduce them again. According to new OECD research, assigning more ownsource revenue to sub-national governments dampens regional GDP disparities and underpins regional convergence.

57 delegates from 10 countries and 8 organisations gathered in Montevideo for the 1st regional meeting of the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit shifting (BEPS) after its launch in Kyoto on 29 June-1st July 2016.

The OECD publishes the comments received on the discussion draft on branch mismatch structures under Action 2 of the BEPS Action Plan.

Switzerland, represented by Ambassador Ulrich Lehner , today deposited its instrument of ratification for the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters ("the Convention") in the presence of OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría.

Taxes on the labour income of the average worker in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries totalled 21.7% of total labour costs in 2013, one-third lower than in OECD countries, where the average was 35.9%, according to the first edition of Taxing Wages in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Current carbon prices are falling short of the levels needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, but even moderate price increases could have a significant impact, according to new OECD research.

This report consists of two parts. Part I is a Progress Report to the G20 by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. Part II is an update report by the OECD Secretary-General regarding tax transparency, with a focus on beneficial ownership information.

This OECD expert workshop will bring together experts to assess available data and methodologies to calculate both Total Factor Productivity and Environmentally Adjusted Total Factor Productivity for the aggregate agricultural sector.

The OECD received a strong endorsement from both the G20 Leaders and Finance Ministers to work on solutions to support certainty in the tax system with the aim to promote investment, trade and balanced growth. As part of a wider project, the OECD launches a Business Survey to invite businesses and other stakeholders to contribute their views on tax certainty.

Following the first meeting of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS in Kyoto, Japan, on 30 June-1 July and the regional meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean held in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 21-23 September, more countries and jurisdictions are joining the framework. On 14 October, the Inclusive Framework on BEPS welcomed Andorra as its 86th member.

Following the first meeting of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS in Kyoto, Japan, on 30 June-1 July and the regional meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean held in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 21-23 September, more countries and jurisdictions are joining the framework. On 14 October, the Inclusive Framework on BEPS welcomed Republic of Congo as its 87th member.

Today, as a further step to implement the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the first series of bilateral automatic exchange relationships were established among the first batch of jurisdictions committed to exchanging information automatically as of 2017.

Today the OECD released key documents, approved by the Inclusive Framework on BEPS, that will form the basis of the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) peer review and monitoring process under Action 14 of the BEPS Action Plan.

As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), Brazil, Guernsey, Jersey, the Isle of Man and Latvia signed today the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports, bringing the total number of signatories to 49.

Panama signed today the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, making it the 105th jurisdiction to join the world’s leading instrument for boosting transparency and combating cross-border tax evasion. The signing shows that Panama is now implementing its commitment to fully cooperate with the international community on transparency.

Today at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Mr. Andrew Haigh, Collector of Inland Revenue of the Cook Islands, signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

On 20 October, the OECD released the key documents that will form the basis of the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) peer review and monitoring process under Action 14 of the BEPS Action Plan. In accordance with the Assessment Methodology, the reviews will be conducted in batches, with the first batch commencing in December 2016.

Following the first meeting of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS in Kyoto, Japan, on 30 June-1 July and the regional meeting for Latin America and the Caribbean held in Montevideo, Uruguay, on 21-23 September, more countries and jurisdictions are joining the framework. On 28 October, the Inclusive Framework on BEPS welcomed Panama as its 87th member.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes held its annual meeting in Tbilisi, Georgia on November 2-4, bringing together 220 delegates from 84 jurisdictions and 12 International organisations to further their shared goal of improving tax transparency and achieving a level playing field.

The Danish financial sector is big and there is a high degree of inter-connectedness between banks, mortgage institutions and pension funds.

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.

Saint Lucia today signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. Saint Lucia became the 107th jurisdiction to join the Convention.

Significant progress has been made by an international programme designed to enhance developing countries’ ability to bolster domestic revenue collection through strengthening of tax audit capacities.

Tax burdens and revenue collection across the OECD countries are reaching levels not seen since before the global financial crisis. Nevertheless, the tax mix varies enormously across the advanced economies.

The effect of the size and mix of public spending on growth and inequality

Using fiscal levers to escape the low-growth trap

More than 100 jurisdictions have concluded negotiations on a multilateral instrument that will swiftly implement a series of tax treaty measures to update international tax rules and lessen the opportunity for tax avoidance by multinational enterprises.

56 delegates from 13 countries gathered in Tunis for the first regional meeting of the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) after its launch in Kyoto on 30 June-1 July 2016. This meeting belongs to a new series of events that offer participants from different regions in the world the opportunity to feed their views and provide their input into the Inclusive Framework on BEPS.