Uruguay has signed 7 new agreements providing for the exchange of tax information, showing its willingness to implement the global standards.

Increased domestic resource mobilization is widely accepted as crucial for countries to successfully meet the challenges of development and achieve higher living standards for all their people.

Greece has signed the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a multilateral agreement that was developed jointly by the Council of Europe and the OECD and that is open for signature to all countries.

India has ratified the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a multilateral agreement developed jointly by the Council of Europe and the OECD that was opened for signature to all countries in June 2011.

Public comments received on the proposed changes to the Commentary on Article 5 (Permanent Establishment) of the OECD Model Tax Convention.

Ms. Monica Bhatia has been appointed Head of the Secretariat of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. She will take up her duties on 1 April 2012.

Costa Rica has signed the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a multilateral agreement developed jointly by the Council of Europe and the OECD that was opened for signature to all countries in June 2011.

Aggressive tax planning – untaxed income, multiple deductions and other forms of international tax arbitrage - is a growing concern for all governments.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has just completed peer reviews of 11 jurisdictions. This brings to 70 the number of peer review reports completed since March 2010.

The average tax and social security burden on employment incomes increased in 26 out of 34 OECD countries in 2011 according to the new OECD Taxing Wages publication. Tax payers in Ireland, Luxembourg, Portugal and the Slovak Republic were among those hit with the largest increases.

Fighting unintended double non-taxation

OECD invites comments on certain transfer pricing timing issues

The OECD's Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA) invites public comments on the draft Commentary on the International VAT Neutrality Guidelines. This draft Commentary provides guidance on the practical implementation of the six International VAT Neutrality Guidelines approved by the CFA in July 2011. Public comments should be sent before 26 September 2012 to vat@oecd.org.

Ghana has signed the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a multilateral agreement developed jointly by the Council of Europe and the OECD. Ghana is the second African country, after South Africa, to sign the Convention since it was opened for signature to all countries in June 2011.

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.

The Global Forum Secretariat enters into a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Arab Emirates, confirming UAE’s commitment to the Global Forum’s work on transparency and exchange of information.

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.

Today Argentina has deposited its instrument of ratification making Argentina the first country from South America to become a Party to the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and allowing it to benefit from cross border tax co-operation and information sharing.

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.

Pakistan has joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. As the 111th member of the Global Forum, it will participate in the peer review process which encourages all countries to adopt effective exchange of information in tax matters.

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.

On 6 June 2012, the OECD released an invitation to comment on a discussion draft on the Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles. The comments received in response to this invitation have been published. This edition replaces the previous edition released on 28 September 2012.

On 6 June 2012, the OECD released an invitation to comment on a discussion draft on the revision of the Safe Harbours Section in Chapter IV of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines. The comments received in response to this invitation have been published. This edition replaces the previous edition released on 28 September 2012.

On 6 June 2012, the OECD released an invitation to comment on a discussion draft on timing issues relating to transfer pricing. The comments received in response to this invitation have been published. This edition replaces the previous edition released on 28 September 2012.

Tax revenues in Latin American countries are lower as a proportion of their national incomes than in most OECD countries, but are rising slowly. Revenue Statistics in Latin America shows that the average tax revenue to GDP ratio in the 15 Latin American countries covered by the report increased from 19% in 2009 to 19.4% in 2010, after falling from a high point of 19.7% in 2008.

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.

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 tax treaty issues related to emissions permits and credits. 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.

This book deals with two issues. The first concerns the various measurement of fiscal decentralization in general and their usefulness for policy analysis. The second and more specific issue concerns the taxonomy of intergovernmental grants and the limits of the current classifications.

Azerbaijan and the Kingdom of Lesotho have joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. As the 119th and 120th members of the Global Forum, they will participate in the peer review process which encourages all countries to adopt effective exchange of information in tax matters.

Albania has become the 43rd country to sign the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters.

Aggressive tax planning (ATP) schemes based on after-tax hedging pose a threat to countries’ revenue base. Empirical evidence suggests that hundreds of millions of USD are at stake, with a number of multi-billion transactions identified by countries.

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.

Rica has deposited its instrument of ratification of the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, the most comprehensive multilateral agreement available for tax-cooperation and exchange of information.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (referred to as "the Global Forum"), has released its peer review reports for Belize, Finland, Iceland, Nauru, Poland, Portugal, Sweden and Turkey.

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 Global Forum is looking for a Tax Policy Analyst

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.

Morocco has signed the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, a multilateral agreement developed jointly by the Council of Europe and the OECD. Morocco is the 45th country to sign the Multilateral Convention since it was updated to meet the international standard on transparency and exchange of information and opened for signature to all countries in June 2011.

As a further sign of international efforts to crack down on tax offenders, 12 more countries have signed, or committed to sign, the OECD’s Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. In addition, another 6 countries have ratified the Convention.

Mr. Angel Gurría, Secretary-General of the OECD, attended the Working Lunch of the G8 Summit and delivered the OECD report “A Step Change in Tax Transparency - Delivering a standardised, secure and cost effective model of bilateral automatic exchange for the multilateral context” and remarks on Trade, Tax, Transparency which are the key priorities of the UK G8 Presidency for the Summit.

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.

This study proposes a structured approach to selecting instruments of fiscal consolidation that are consistent with growth, equity and global-rebalancing objectives, which is then illustrated with a particular application.

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.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has released peer review reports assessing the tax systems of 13 jurisdictions for information exchange.