Vast amounts are lost to illicit financial flows, including tax evasion, money laundering, bribery and corruption. These crimes threaten the strategic, political and economic interests of both developed and developing countries. In a world of limited resources and increasing complexity, it is essential for government authorities to work closely together in a “whole of government” approach to best address these challenges.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría today called on all countries to fully engage with the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and said advanced and emerging economies had a particular responsibility to translate the global goals into national policy and to support developing countries in doing the same.

Keeping tax transparency high on the agenda of Governments and taking steps to ensure a worldwide level playing field will top the agenda during the 8th meeting of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, in Bridgetown, Barbados on 29-30 October 2015.

OECD urges efforts to better price carbon as new analysis finds that 90% of CO2-emissions are priced below EUR 30 per tonne, a low-end estimate of climate damage, and 60% are not priced at all. Effective Carbon Rates in the OECD and Selected Partner Economies calculates effective carbon rates (ECR) on CO2-emissions from energy use for 41 countries which together use 80% of global emissions.

On 17 December 2015 Greenland signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement‎, re-confirming its commitment to implement automatic exchange of financial account information in time to exchange in 2017.

Malaysia today signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement‎, re-confirming its commitment to implement automatic exchange of financial account information in time to commence exchanges in 2018.

The European Commission presented today a series of measures for a coordinated EU-wide response to corporate tax avoidance, notably through implementation of the global standards developed under the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project. The Commission proposal would align tax laws in all 28 EU countries, in order to fight aggressive tax practices by multinational enterprises

On 1-3 March 2016, the OECD hosted two important events for the international tax community. The Task Force on Tax and Development and the Global Forum on Transfer Pricing gathered over 230 participants representing 84 jurisdictions and 11 international and regional organisations.

In a continued effort to boost transparency in international tax matters, the OECD has today released its standardised electronic format for the exchange of Country-by-Country (CbC) Reports between jurisdictions – the CbC XML Schema – as well as the related User Guide.

The “Panama Papers” revelations have shone the light on Panama’s culture and practice of secrecy. Panama is the last major holdout that continues to allow funds to be hidden offshore from tax and law enforcement authorities

The issue of illicit financial flows (IFFS) is at the forefront of the international agenda. Both the OECD and the High Level Panel have focused attention on this problem and have identified ways in which to tackle it.

The OECD and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes announced today that Bahrain, Lebanon, Nauru, Panama and Vanuatu have now committed to share financial account information automatically with other countries.

Paraguay has joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes as its 134th member.

While the digital economy cannot be separated out from the rest of the economy, it is equally clear that some specific features of the digital economy may exacerbate the risks of base erosion and profit shifting for tax purposes–namely mobility (e.g. intangibles, business functions), reliance on data (and other forms of user input), network effects, and the spread of multi-sided business models.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Today, another important step to implement the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS) was taken, with a further 350 bilateral automatic exchange relationships being established between over 50 jurisdictions committed to exchanging information automatically pursuant to the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS), starting in 2017.

Malaysia has sustained over four decades of rapid, inclusive growth, reducing its dependence on agriculture and commodity exports to become a more diversified, modern and open economy.

Thailand's membership reinforces its commitment to implement both the international standard of exchange of information on request and the standard of automatic exchange of financial account information.

This report consists of two parts. Part I is an update report by the OECD Secretary-General regarding the latest developments in the international tax agenda, including (Annex 1) the joint OECD/IMF Report on Tax Certainty. Part II is a Progress Report to the G20 by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

Taxing Wages 2017, the OECD’s annual flagship publication on the various taxes levied on wages and salaries, will be released on Tuesday 11 April 2017 at 11:00 CET (09:00 GMT).

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.

Almost 50 delegates from 14 countries and 7 organisations gathered in Tbilisi for the second regional meeting of the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region.

Approximately 300 participants, representing over 100 delegations from countries, jurisdictions and international organisations, as well as representatives from the business community and academia, gathered in Paris for the fourth meeting of the OECD Global Forum on VAT on 12-14 April 2017.

Today, another important step was taken to implement Country-by-Country Reporting in accordance with the BEPS Action 13 minimum standard, through activations of automatic exchange relationships under the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of CbC Reports.

As part of its ongoing efforts to maintain the integrity of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the OECD is today launching a disclosure facility on the AEOI portal which allows interested parties to report potential schemes to circumvent the CRS.Over 1800 bilateral exchange relationships in place for the exchange of CRS information.

This report consists of two parts. Part I is an update report by the OECD Secretary-General regarding the latest developments in the international tax agenda. Part II is a Progress Report to the G20 by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

Today, the OECD released a report on Neutralising the Effects of Branch Mismatch Arrangements (BEPS Action 2). This new report sets out recommendations for changes to domestic law that would bring the treatment of these branch mismatch structures into line with outcomes described in the 2015 Report.

Today at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Nigeria signed two major multilateral instruments: the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) and the CRS Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement‎ (the CRS MCAA). Nigeria becomes the 71st jurisdiction to sign the MLI and the 94th jurisdiction to join the CRS MCAA.

Countries have continued the trend towards implementing tax policy reforms as part of wider strategies to boost growth, with a growing focus on reducing inequalities and driving behavioural change, according to a new report from the OECD.

At present, 102 jurisdictions have publicly committed to implement the Common Reporting Standard, with 49 being committed to start exchanges this month and a further 53 taking up exchanges in September 2018.

Today, the OECD has released updated and new IT-tools and guidance to support the technical implementation of the exchange of tax information under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), on Country-by-Country Reporting (CbC) and in relation to tax rulings (ETR).

As part of the ongoing work of the Task Force on the Digital Economy (TFDE), the OECD is seeking public comments on key issues identified in a request for input related to the tax challenges raised by digitalisation and the potential options to address these challenges.

Tax administrations are playing a critical role as governments start implementing new international measures to counter offshore evasion and combat tax avoidance by multinational enterprises.

The Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) is the leading international body concerned with tax administration. The FTA, which brings together Tax Commissioners from 50 advanced and emerging tax administrations (including OECD and G20 countries), held its Plenary meeting in Oslo on 27-29 September.

Today, a further step was taken to implement Country-by-Country Reporting in accordance with the BEPS Action 13 minimum standard, through activations of automatic exchange relationships under the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of CbC Reports ("the CbC MCAA").

Governments have dismantled, or are in the process of amending, nearly 100 preferential tax regimes as part of the OECD/G20 BEPS standards to improve the international tax framework, according to a progress report released today.

On 16 October 2017, an OECD delegation met in Tbilisi the Georgian First Deputy Minister and Head of Georgia Revenue Service Giorgi Tabuashvili and Deputy Minister Lasha Khutsishvili to discuss the progress of the country in implementing the new international standards to combat tax avoidance and tax evasion.

Every worker and employer is directly affected by taxes on wages. Taxation is one of the principal ways we finance public services. It also helps us achieve important social objectives, such as redistributing wealth to address inequalities. But as the OECD’s annual Taxing Wages points out, tax policies on labour income may have an impact on individuals’ behaviour with respect to the labour market or their consumption habits.

On 22 September 2017, interested parties were invited to provide comments on the tax challenges of digitalisation. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the public comments received. A public consultation will be held on 1 November 2017 at the Univeristy of California, Berkeley.

The OECD will hold a public consultation event on the tax challenges of digitalisation on 1 November at the University of California, Berkeley, United States.