The OECD has updated Article 26 of the OECD Model Tax Convention, which sets out the international standard on exchange of information. The standard provides for information exchange on request, where the information is “foreseeably relevant” for the administration of the taxes of the requesting party, regardless of bank secrecy and a domestic tax interest.

Furthering its efforts to strengthen international tax co-operation, the OECD has issued two new reports on automatic exchange and tax confidentiality. The report on automatic exchange of information describes what it is, how it works, where it stands and what challenges remain. The report on confidentiality of information exchanged examines all aspects of ensuring the protection of information exchanged for tax purposes.

This paper considers the influence of taxes on the financial incentive to invest in human capital and explores the tax treatment of private investment by individuals and employers in post-compulsory education and lifelong learning in 31 OECD countries, India and South Africa.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on a revised discussion draft on the meaning of “beneficial owner”, a term that is used in Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the OECD Model Tax Convention.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on a revised discussion draft on the definition of “permanent establishment” that is included in Article 5 of the OECD Model Tax Convention.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on a revised discussion draft on tax treaty issues related to emissions permits/credits, which addresses the application of the provisions of the OECD Model Tax Convention to the cross-border granting and trading of emissions permits and credits.

Secretary-General Angel Gurría provided closing remarks at the first meeting of the OECD Global Forum on Value Added Tax (VAT) held in Paris. The meeting focused on designing efficient and equitable VAT systems and analyzing their impacts on international trade.

The OECD is currently developing International VAT/GST Guidelines to address issues of double taxation and unintended double non-taxation, and this work provides a unique basis for the creation of the future international standard for applying VAT to cross-border trade. This was the conclusion of delegates who participated in the inaugural meeting of the OECD Global Forum on VAT, in Paris on 7-8 November.

On 12-14 November 2012, transfer pricing experts from governments met with private sector representatives to discuss the transfer pricing discussion drafts released on 6 June 2012. The agenda for the meeting, presentation material submitted by private sector participants, and a list of participants have now been published.

Invitation to attend the OECD-BIAC public briefing session on TRACE and FATCA

The amount of cross border portfolio investment exceeds 35 trillion USD. To encourage growth and cross-border investment more than 3000 tax treaties around the world based on the OECD Model reduce source taxation on a reciprocal basis.

On 19 October 2012, the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs released for public comment revised proposals concerning the meaning of “beneficial owner” in Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the OECD Model Tax Convention. The OECD has now published the comments received on this revised discussion draft.

On 19 October 2012, the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs released for public comment a revised discussion draft on the definition of “permanent establishment” (Article 5) of the OECD Model Tax Convention. The OECD has now published the comments received on this revised discussion draft.

Global solutions are needed to ensure that tax systems do not unduly profit multinational enterprises, leaving citizens and small businesses with bigger tax bills.

The OECD has released a study to help all countries understand and address the risks of sales suppression software. It describes some of the most common electronic sales suppression techniques and shows how these methods can be detected by tax auditors. The report also considers the approaches already adopted by countries in combating this risk and highlights a number of best practices.

New data show that across OECD countries the average tax and social security burden on employment incomes increased by 0.1 of a percentage point to 35.6 per cent in 2012. It increased in 19 out of 34 countries, fell in 14, and remained unchanged in 1.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria has presented a report to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors that highlights measures to ensure that all taxpayers pay their fair share.

The Steering Committee of the OECD Global Forum on Transfer Pricing publishes a Draft Handbook on Transfer Pricing Risk Assessment. This Handbook is intended to provide practical guidance to tax administrations in both OECD and non-OECD economies regarding the process of conducting transfer pricing risk assessments. Interested parties are invited to provide comments by 13 September 2013.

This fifth edition describes institutional setups, organisational arrangements and reforms, aspects of strategic management and human resource management, resources for tax administration, important areas of operational performance, the use of technology, and elements of the legislative and administrative framework for tax administration across the 52 economies covered by the series.

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.

OECD governments have committed to stepping up their efforts to tackle base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) by endorsing the OECD's BEPS Declaration at the Organisation’s annual Ministerial Meeting in Paris.

The OECD has presented to G8 leaders the steps needed to create a fairer and more transparent global tax system.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on a discussion draft on the tax treaty treatment of various payments, such as non-competition payments, that may be made following the termination of an employment.

National tax laws have not kept pace with the globalisation of corporations and the digital economy, leaving gaps that can be exploited by multi-national corporations to artificially reduce their taxes.

The OECD today presented to G20 finance ministers plans for a two-pronged attack on tax avoidance and evasion from both companies and individuals.

As part of its project on transfer pricing simplification, the OECD has released a White Paper on Transfer Pricing Documentation. Comments of interested persons are requested by 1 October 2013.

The OECD released for public comment a Revised Discussion Draft on Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles. The Revised Discussion Draft updates and expands an earlier discussion draft released in June 2012 to reflect comments received and further discussions of country delegates to Working Party No. 6 of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs. Comments of interested persons are requested by 1 October 2013.

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.

OECD Secretary-General Gurría today presented to G20 Leaders ground-breaking proposals to tackle tax evasion and avoidance by both companies and individuals. The proposals establish automatic exchange of information for tax purposes as the new international standard for tax co-operation and set out the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), which was first presented to G20 Finance Ministers in Moscow in July 2013.

"Tax Policy Landscape Five Years after the Crisis" discusses how tax policies have responded to fiscal and macroeconomic developments over the past five years and these longer-term structural economic developments on. "Tax Reform in the People's Republic of China" compares the tax system in China with the tax system in OECD countries and the tax reforms China and OECD countries have implemented in the past.

On 30 April 2013, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the new Draft Handbook on Transfer Pricing Risk Assessment, produced by the Steering Committee of the OECD Global Forum on Transfer Pricing. The OECD now publishes the comments received.

The OECD will hold a public consultation on the Revised Discussion Draft on Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles and the White Paper on Transfer Pricing Documentation on 12-13 November 2013 at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris, France. The public consultation will also consider other transfer pricing elements of the 19 July 2013 Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.

Over 300 senior tax officials from more than 100 jurisdictions and international organisations met in Paris on 26-27 September 2013 during the 18th Annual Tax Treaty Meeting to discuss solutions to unintended double non-taxation caused by base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

OECD Secretary-General, Angel Gurría, congratulated Japanese Prime Minister Abe on his announcement today that Japan will raise its consumption tax as legislated from the current 5% to 8% next April.

Most OECD governments use tax incentives to encourage businesses to invest in research and development (R&D) to boost innovation and drive economic growth. Others, like China, India and South Africa, are doing the same. But reforming these incentives would give countries a better return on their investment and support young innovative firms that play a crucial role in job creation, according to a new OECD report.

A public consultation will be held at the OECD Conference Centre on 12-13 November 2013. The public consultation is open to all interested persons and will be attended by country delegates to Working Party No. 6 of the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs. Persons interested in attending must register in advance through the OECD website.

On 30 July 2013, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the White paper on Transfer Pricing Documentation, released as part of its project on transfer pricing simplification. The OECD now publishes the comments received.

On 30 July 2013, the OECD invited comments from interested parties on the Revised Discussion Draft on Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles. The comments received in response to this invitation have been published.

The OECD invites interested parties to send a short description of strategies that might be considered to result in the artificial avoidance of the permanent establishment status in relation to base erosion and profit shifting.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría welcomed today Chile’s recent steps to strengthen international tax co-operation.

The OECD’s Task Force on Tax and Development met in Seoul, on 30-31 October 2013. Governments, international and regional organisations, civil society and business representatives reviewed progress made since the previous meeting and explored further ways to help developing countries better mobilise their domestic resources.

Today, the OECD held a public consultation on transfer pricing topics at the OECD headquarters in Paris. The meeting was attended by delegates from more than 35 countries and by more than 150 representatives of business, academia, civil society and the press.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria welcomed today Liechtenstein’s announcement of plans to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and take further steps to increase transparency and international co-operation.

The OECD invites public comments on a discussion draft that includes proposed changes to the OECD Model Tax Convention dealing with the operation of ships and aircraft in international traffic.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments on a discussion draft that includes various technical changes to be included in the next update to the OECD Model Tax Convention.

The OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs invites public comments and input on questions related to the tax challenges of the digital economy. The Committee invites interested parties to send their comments in response to this request for input before 22 December 2013.

On 25 June 2013, the OECD released for public comment a discussion draft on the tax treatment of various payments that may be made following the termination of an employment. The OECD has now published the comments received on this discussion draft.

The timeline of the OECD/G20 BEPS Project is extremely ambitious, with the first outputs expected for September 2014 and the completion of the project by the end of 2015. Input from relevant stakeholders is essential as the BEPS Project moves forward to develop the measures envisaged in the BEPS Action Plan.

Tax revenues continue bouncing back from the low levels reported in almost all countries during 2008 and 2009, at the height of the global economic crisis, according to new OECD data in the annual Revenue Statistics publication. The average tax revenue to GDP ratio in OECD countries was 34.6% in 2012, compared with 34.1% in 2011 and 33.8% in 2010.

On 22 November 2013, a request for public comments on the tax challenges of the digital economy was launched. The OECD now publishes the comments received.