Senegal today signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. Senegal is the 11th country of the African continent to sign the Convention and the 93rd jurisdiction to join it. Simultaneously to signing the Convention, Senegal today also became the 32nd signatory of Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports (CbC MCAA).

Kenya today signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. Kenya is the 12th African country to sign the Convention and the 94th jurisdiction to join it.

On 22-23 February 2016, a regional network meeting on the implementation of the BEPS package was held in Dakar (Senegal), by the OECD in partnership with the CREDAF (Centre de Rencontres et d'Etudes des Dirigeants des Administrations Fiscales).

Public comments are invited on a discussion draft that includes proposals for changes to the OECD Model Tax Convention concerning the treaty residence of pension funds. Comments should be sent by 1 April 2016 at the latest.

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.

The world’s leading forum on tax transparency published 10 new peer review reports today, pointing to ever-increasing compliance with the internationally-recognised standards to curb tax evasion through the exchange of information.

Despite a continuing slowdown in economic growth, tax revenues in Latin American and Caribbean countries rose slightly in 2014, as a proportion of national incomes, according to new data from the annual Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean publication.

Responses are invited to the questions included in a consultation document on issues and suggestions related to the impact of the Report on BEPS Action 6 on the tax treaty entitlement of non-CIV funds.

Tax revenues in African countries are rising as a proportion of national incomes, according to the inaugural edition of Revenue Statistics in Africa. In 2014, the eight countries covered by the report - Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Mauritius, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia - reported tax revenues as a percentage of GDP ranging from 16.1% to 31.3%.

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

On 29/02/2016, interested parties were invited to comment on a discussion draft othat includes proposals for changes to the OECD Model Tax Convention concerning the treaty residence of pension funds. The OECD is grateful to the commentators for their input and now publishes the comments received.

The international community should call time on all remaining holdouts who have yet to implement internationally agreed tax transparency standards, OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría said in a new report to the G20.

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.

Bermuda became the 33rd signatory of the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports (CbC MCAA), which is based on Article 6 of the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters and puts in place the automatic exchange framework for exchanging Country-by-Country Reports, as contemplated by BEPS Action 13.

The role of tax administrations in implementing the OECD/G20 work on the international tax agenda will be the focus of the 10th Plenary meeting of the OECD Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) to be held in Beijing, People's Republic of China, on 11-13 May 2016.

On 24 March 2016, comments were invited to the questions included in a consultation document on issues and suggestions on the tax treaty entitlement of non-CIV (Collective Investment Vehicle) funds.

As part of continuing efforts to boost transparency by multinational enterprises (MNEs), Canada, Iceland, India, Israel, New Zealand and the People’s Republic of China signed today the Multilateral Competent Authority agreement for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports (“CbC MCAA”), bringing the total number of signatories to 39 countries. The signing ceremony took place in Beijing, China.

If there is a silver lining to the 2008 financial crisis, it is that it was a catalyst for the unprecedented progress we have made in building robust international tax standards for the interconnected global economy of the 21st century.

Public comments are invited on technical issues identified in a request for input related to the development of a multilateral instrument to implement the tax-treaty related BEPS measures. Comments should be sent by 30 June 2016 at the latest.

Mr Jefferson VanderWolk has been appointed Head of the Tax Treaty, Transfer Pricing & Financial Transactions Division in the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. He will take up his duties in early July 2016.

On 23 May 2016, the OECD Council approved the amendments to the Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations ("Transfer Pricing Guidelines"), as set out in the 2015 BEPS Report on Actions 8-10 "Aligning Transfer Pricing Outcomes with Value Creation" and the 2015 BEPS Report on Action 13 "Transfer Pricing Documentation and Country-by-Country Reporting".

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

Representatives of countries and jurisdictions worldwide will gather in Kyoto, Japan on 30 June and 1 July for a special meeting of the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs organised to take forward the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project.

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.

Mrs Rosa Hernández de Grullón, Ambassador of the Dominican Republic to France and Mr John Petersen, Advisor to the Minister of Finance of Nauru, signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in the presence of Deputy Secretary General Rintaro Tamaki, therewith becoming the 97th and 98th jurisdictions to join the Convention.

Today the OECD has taken a new step in its continuing efforts to boost transparency in international tax matters with the release of guidance on the implementation of country-by-country (CbC) reporting.

On 31 May 2016, public comments were invited on technical issues identified in a Request for Input related to the development of a multilateral instrument to implement the tax-treaty related BEPS measures. This document compiles the comments received in response to that request for input.

Public comments are invited on discussion drafts on "Attribution of Profits to Permanent Establishments" which deals with work in relation to BEPS Action 7 and on the "Revised Guidance on Profit Splits" which deals with work in related to BEPS Actions 8-10 of the OECD/G20 BEPS Action Plan.

The OECD will hold a public consultation event on the Multilateral Instrument on 7 July 2016 at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris, France.

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 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.

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.

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.

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.

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.