On 21 November 2017 the OECD Council approved the contents of the 2017 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.

As part of continuing efforts to improve the international tax framework and tax certainty, the OECD has released the second round of analyses of individual country efforts to improve dispute resolution mechanisms. These seven peer review reports represent the second round of stage 1 evaluations of how countries are implementing new minimum standards agreed in the OECD/G20 BEPS Project.

A pilot of a new FTA programme for the multilateral risk assessment of large MNE groups was launched at an event today in Washington DC, hosted by the Internal Revenue Service.

This paper presents data on carryover provisions in 34 countries and compares their effects on the basis of two comparable indices. Empirical results show that in most countries corporate tax is not perfectly symmetric, suggesting the existence of tax-induced distortions towards less risky investments.

As the BEPS Action 14 continues its efforts to make dispute resolution more timely, effective and efficient, eight more peer review reports have been released today. These eight reports highlight how well jurisdictions are implementing the Action 14 minimum standard as agreed to in the OECD/G20 BEPS Project.

The work on BEPS Action 14 continues with today’s publication of the fourth 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.

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.

The Czech health care system is doing well in terms of health outcomes compared to other Central East European economies that inherited similar health systems after the transition and has been converging to OECD averages.

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.

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.

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.

The world's four leading multilateral organisations working in the tax area have established their first integrated website containing information on how low- and middle-income countries can strengthen tax systems and mobilise the domestic revenue they need to address some of their urgent development challenges—including the COVID-19 pandemic.

Labour taxes on the average worker across OECD countries continued to decline for the sixth consecutive year in 2019, according to a new OECD report.

The Phase 3 Report on Switzerland by the OECD Working Group on Bribery evaluates and makes recommendations on Switzerland 's implementation and application of the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions and related instruments.

Russia has yet to address key provisions of the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which entered into force in Russia in April 2012. It has not yet fully implemented recommendations for strengthening its framework for combating foreign bribery and should be more proactive in detecting, investigating and prosecuting foreign bribery cases.

Turkey is a significant and geopolitically critical economy. Its companies, like those from many other countries, operate in corruption-prone sectors and countries. In spite of this, only 10 allegations have come to the attention of Turkish authorities since foreign bribery became an offence in Turkey in 2003.

Funded Pension arrangements, in particular defined contribution ones, are playing a growing role in complementing retirement income from public sources in OECD countries and worldwide. However, their design needs to be improved, according to a new OECD report.

Lending volumes and credit conditions for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have gradually improved, according to a new report from the OECD, but demand-side obstacles such as a lack of financial knowledge are contributing to holding back a stronger recovery.

The Czech Republic must strengthen its efforts to detect, investigate and prosecute foreign bribery. Seventeen years after ratifying the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, the Czech Republic has yet to prosecute a case involving the bribery of foreign public officials.

Though overall medical care is improving, efforts to prevent and better manage chronic diseases such as diabetes and asthma would improve results and lower costs, according to the OECD’s latest edition of Health at a Glance.

Israel has world class-primary care services and should now focus efforts on bringing its hospitals up to the same high international standards, according to the OECD’s Health Care Quality Review of Israel.

This workshop will convene leading experts from health and finance backgrounds in government, academia, and international organisations to take stock of progress in health expenditure forecasting and to discuss future directions, in light of policy needs and recent advancements in techniques, detailed data and computing power.

Though the rate of public spending on healthcare in the Asia/Pacific region is still well below the OECD average, countries there are committing more resources to improving health care quality.

The Danish central government and regions are leading international efforts to reform hospital systems, improving quality and safety by gathering specialists into major hospitals and closing smaller ones.

Norway is better placed to cope with population ageing than most other countries. But it could still do more to improve incentives and opportunities for people to stay working longer which would help ensure the country’s long-term future, according to a new OECD report.

Earlier detection and better treatment for cancer would cut death rates from the disease by around a third, saving the lives of nearly a million people in the developed world every year, according to a new report by the OECD prepared with the support of the European Commission, building on earlier World Health Organisation research.

Japan has good health outcomes and has rapidly increased its spending on health care in recent years. It now needs to focus on improving efficiency of its health system in order to continue delivering high-quality care while containing costs, according to a new OECD report.

Sweden’s health and elderly care systems deserve their reputation as being among the best in the world. Yet an ageing population with growing chronic conditions and requiring more complex health services are testing Sweden’s ability to continue delivering high-quality care, according to a new OECD report.

Switzerland needs to do more to help people with mental disorders find a job or stay in work, according to a new OECD report.

Strengthening primary health care and prevention programmes would help stem the growing tide of diabetes and other chronic health conditions in the Czech Republic, according to a new OECD report.

Countries in the Asia/Pacific region need to step up their efforts to give more people access to affordable, quality health care. Too many people, especially women, cannot get the medical treatment they need due to high costs, difficulties in getting permission to see a doctor or a lack of health care providers in rural areas, according to a new OECD report.

The Portuguese National Health Service has responded well to financial pressure, successfully balancing the twin priorities of financial consolidation and continuous quality improvement, according to a new OECD report.

Too many lives are still lost in OECD countries because healthcare quality is improving too slowly to cope with ageing populations and the growing number of people with one or more chronic diseases, according to a new OECD report.

Colombia has significantly improved its health system over the past 20 years, leading to a rise in life expectancy and a fall in infant mortality. To maintain its ambition of universal, high-quality health care, Colombia should now focus on improving efficiency and strengthening financial sustainability, according to a new OECD report.

Latvia has successfully consolidated its hospital sector and strengthened primary care since the financial crisis. But persistent barriers to accessing high quality care need to be removed, according to a new OECD report.

How can government policies move towards increasing agricultural innovation and improving productivity? This OECD conference shared case studies and ideas from Europe, China, United States, India, Africa, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand.

Australia should follow up on the reform of its vocational education system by improving quality control in the VET sector and step up career guidance for young people to boost young people’s job prospects and reduce the share of under-30-year-olds who are not in employment, education or training (NEETs), according to a new OECD report.

Global economic activity is picking up, but the continuing crisis in the euro area is delaying a meaningful recovery, the OECD said in its latest Interim Economic Assessment.

Japan has good health outcomes and has rapidly increased its spending on health care in recent years. It now needs to focus on improving efficiency of its health system in order to continue delivering high-quality care while containing costs, according to a new OECD report.

Facilitating female employment is particularly important given Japan’s shrinking and ageing population, which has already contributed to labour shortages.

Between 1999 and 2014, the number of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Japan dropped by 21% as a result of the retirement of ageing business owners and weak entrepreneurial intentions in the Japanese population.

Exports: Special Classification Provisions Spare Parts in South Africa decreased to 0.07 ZAR Million in March from 1.38 ZAR Million in February of 2020. Exports: Special Classification Provisions Spare P in South Africa averaged 1.09 ZAR Million from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 16.61 ZAR Million in December of 2017 and a record low of 0 ZAR Million in April of 2019. This page includes a chart with historical data for South Africa Exports of Special Classification Provisions Spar.

Imports: Special Classification Provisions Spare Parts in South Africa increased to 9741.91 ZAR Million in March from 9091.26 ZAR Million in February of 2020. Imports: Special Classification Provisions Spare P in South Africa averaged 7610.38 ZAR Million from 2014 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 11547.82 ZAR Million in July of 2019 and a record low of 2876.49 ZAR Million in December of 2016. This page includes a chart with historical data for South Africa Imports of Special Classification Provisions Spar.

This publication analyses the reform and the Austrian labour migration management system in international comparison.

The value of implicit guarantees has declined from its peak at the height of the financial crisis, which is consistent with progress made regarding the bank regulatory reform agenda, as one would expect that many of the reform measures imply a more limited value of implicit guarantees for bank debt. Implicit guarantees persist however and their value continues to be significant.

As part of continuing efforts to support market confidence and business integrity, the OECD has launched in Asia a new set of corporate governance principles that were endorsed at the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in September 2015.

28 April 2016, Paris - OECD, IOPS and the World Bank are joining forces to expand the reach of the OECD’s Global Pension Statistics database and annual Pensions Markets in Focus report. This collaboration with the World Bank will help bring data from emerging and developing economies that are not currently included in the database.

Funded Pension arrangements, in particular defined contribution ones, are playing a growing role in complementing retirement income from public sources in OECD countries and worldwide. However, their design needs to be improved, according to a new OECD report.

In 2014, the Financial Stability Board (FSB), in collaboration with the IMF and OECD, prepared a report for G20 leaders that sought to assess the cross-border consistencies and global financial stability implications of structural banking reform measures. To further examine structural banking reform measures taken since 2008, the OECD circulated a survey. This report describes the outcome of this survey.

Mortgage Approvals in the United Kingdom decreased to 56.16 Thousand in March from 73.67 Thousand in February of 2020. Mortgage Approvals in the United Kingdom averaged 83.91 Thousand from 1986 until 2020, reaching an all time high of 151.80 Thousand in May of 1988 and a record low of 26.36 Thousand in November of 2008. Mortgage approvals for house purchase refers to the firm offers of lenders to advance credit secured on specific dwellings to their customers. It covers approvals that are fully secured on residential property by a first mortgage. It includes existing borrowers transferring their existing mortgage to another property, lending to first-time purchasers and lending for buy-to-let purposes. This page provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Mortgage Approvals - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.