As part of its efforts to maintain the integrity of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the OECD has been working closely with Panama over the last weeks to ensure that any risks created by its Residence by Investment (RBI) programmes are effectively addressed.

The Global Forum held its annual meeting in Uruguay on 20-22 November, bringing together 220 delegates from 84 jurisdictions and 12 International organisations to strengthen further the international community’s fight against tax evasion. The meeting marked the widespread rollout of automatic exchange of financial account of information.

This week, in the margins of the 11th Global Forum meeting held in Punta del Este, Uruguay Minister of Economy and Finance Danilo Astori led a discussion with Ministers, high level representatives and officials from Latin America on the use of information exchange to combat tax fraud and corruption.

This new report shows that tax-to-GDP ratios fell in most of the 16 Asian and Pacific economies covered by the report between 2015-16 due to a combination of policy reforms and decreasing natural resource prices.

The Convention will enter into force for Jamaica on 1 March 2019 and will generally apply from 1 January 2020, although it may apply for earlier periods between signatories if agreed to and applies in relation to any period regarding criminal matters.

This report contains two parts. Part I reports on the activities and achievements in the OECD’s international tax agenda. Part II reports on the activities and achievements of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

Tax revenues in advanced economies have continued to increase, with taxes on companies and personal consumption representing an increasing share of total tax revenues, according to new OECD research.

The purpose of the CbC MCAA is to set forth rules and procedures as may be necessary for Competent Authorities of jurisdictions implementing BEPS Action 13 to automatically exchange CbC Reports prepared by the Reporting Entity of an MNE Group and filed on an annual basis with the tax authorities of the jurisdiction of tax residence of that entity with the tax authorities of all jurisdictions in which the MNE Group operates.

As part of continuing efforts to improve tax transparency, the Inclusive Framework on BEPS has now assessed 92 individual jurisdictions' progress in spontaneously exchanging information on tax rulings, in accordance with Action 5 of the OECD/G20 BEPS package.

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.

OECD Deputy Secretary-General Ludger Schuknecht and Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, met today in Paris with Mr. Menno Snel, State Secretary for Finance in The Netherlands, for wide-ranging discussions on international co-operation in the field of taxation, notably as concerns tackling tax evasion.

Belize has signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS, becoming the 86th jurisdiction to join the Convention, which now covers almost 1500 bilateral tax treaties. Yesterday, Monaco deposited its instrument of ratification for the Convention with the OECD’s Secretary-General.

Today, the OECD, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) and National Treasury of South Africa (National Treasury) signed a Memorandum of Co-operation (MoC), agreeing to continue to work together in the area of taxation. The MOC is in place until December 2023.

Taxes paid by companies remain a key source of government revenues, especially in developing countries, despite the worldwide trend of falling corporate tax rates over the past two decades, according to a new report from the OECD.

The Task Force on Tax and Development organised this conference on the role of tax morale in development which introduced new research undertaken by the OECD on the drivers of tax morale in developing countries.

Further progress has been made by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS in implementation of BEPS measures against harmful tax practices (BEPS Action 5).

The international community has made important progress toward addressing the tax challenges arising from digitalisation of the economy and has agreed to continue working multilaterally towards achievement of a new consensus-based long-term solution in 2020, the OECD announced today.

Today, at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, H.E. Aichetou Mint M’Haiham, Ambassador of Mauritania to France, signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the Convention) in the presence of the OECD Deputy Secretary-General Ludger Schuknecht. Mauritania is the 127th jurisdiction to join the Convention.

Indonesia’s government needs more revenue to fund spending that can boost GDP growth, raise well-being and reduce poverty.

As part of the ongoing work of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS, the OECD is seeking public comments on key issues identified in a public consultation document on possible solutions to the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy.

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 OECD is now gathering input for the BEPS Action 14 Stage 1 peer reviews of Brunei, Curaçao, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Monaco, San Marino and Serbia, and invites taxpayers to submit input on specific MAP-related issues by 19 March 2019.

On 5 March, Morocco and Cameroon launched a new TIWB South-South bilateral programme in Yaoundé. The programme, a first between two Francophone African countries, will see Moroccan tax audit experts providing support to Cameroon.

The OECD welcomes France's new programme on co-operative compliance, announced today. Co-operative compliance is an initiative for promoting better tax compliance developed by the OECD Forum on Tax Administration.

The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum) published today seven peer review reports assessing compliance with the international standard on transparency and exchange of information on request (EOIR).

As part of OECD Integrity Week 2019 (18-22 March), this event will bring together international experts to discuss these issues of integrity, transparency and trust in the tax system, and the research, tools and approaches needed to identify and implement policies to increase tax morale.

This report “A Beneficial Ownership Implementation Toolkit” – contains policy considerations that Global Forum member jurisdictions can use in implementing the legal and supervisory frameworks to identify and collect beneficial ownership information, which is now a requirement of the international tax transparency standards.

This paper analyses the tax treatment of different employment forms for a set of eight countries: Argentina, Australia, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. The analysis includes labour income taxes, capital income taxes, social contributions, and non-tax compulsory payments.

Meeting in Melbourne, Australia on 20-22 March 2019, around 300 participants attending the Global Forum on VAT, welcomed measures proposed in a new report by the OECD on The Role of Digital Platforms in the Collection of VAT/GST on Online Sales. The report includes new measures to make e-commerce marketplaces liable for the VAT/GST on sales made by online traders through their platforms.

The average tax-to-GDP ratio in Latin America and the Caribbean rose to 22.8% in 2017, a gain of 0.2 percentage points from 2016, according to Revenue Statistics in Latin America and the Caribbean 2019. The report finds that the rebound was primarily driven by Caribbean countries and in particular Guyana and Barbados, on the back of tax policy and administration reforms.

The Forum on Tax Administration (FTA), the 53 leading global tax administrations, met in Chile on 26-28 March and agreed an ambitious agenda focused on tax certainty, enhanced tax co-operation and the collective challenges of digital transformation.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands has deposited its instrument of acceptance and Georgia has deposited its instrument of ratification for the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) with the OECD's Secretary-General, thus underlining its strong commitments to prevent the abuse of tax treaties and BEPS by multinational enterprises.

As part of the ongoing work on tax morale, the OECD is seeking public comments on itis forthcoming publication What is driving tax morale? An empirical analysis on social preferences and attitudes towards taxation.

Income tax and social security contributions declined slightly for the average worker across the OECD in 2018, driven by major reforms in a handful of countries, according to a new OECD report.

Today, at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, H.E. Sharlene Shillingford-McKlmon, Ambassador of Dominica to the European Union, signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the Convention). Dominica is the 128th jurisdiction to join the Convention.

Investment in intangible assets has become an increasingly important driver of productivity growth in OECD countries.

Distance-based charges can help sustain tax revenues and improve environmental and mobility outcomes as future vehicles rely less on fossil fuels. According to a new report, tax revenue from diesel and gasoline use in private cars is likely to decline substantially in the coming decades. This would put stress on government budgets, particularly in countries where fuel tax revenues represent a large share of total revenue.

The mission of the French High Commission for Pension Reform is to prepare the reform introducing a universal pension points system in France.

On 29 May 2019, the UAE deposited its instrument of ratification for the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (multilateral convention or MLI) with the OECD’s Secretary-General, therewith underlining its strong commitment to prevent the abuse of tax treaties and BEPS by multinational enterprises. For the UAE, the MLI will enter into force on 1 September 2019.

The international community has agreed on a road map for resolving the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy, and committed to continue working toward a consensus-based long-term solution by the end of 2020, the OECD announced today.

International efforts to improve transparency via automatic exchange of information on financial accounts are improving tax compliance and delivering concrete results for governments worldwide, according to new data released today by the OECD.

This report contains two parts. Part I reports on the activities and achievements in the OECD’s international tax agenda. Part II reports on the activities and achievements of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría and Japan’s Minister of Finance Taro Aso presided today over a signing ceremony to establish a new centre of the OECD International Academy for Tax Crime Investigation in Wako, Japan.

Today, at the OECD Headquarters in Paris, Slavica Savicic, State Secretary for Finance of the Republic of Serbia, signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the Convention) in the presence of the OECD Deputy Secretary-General Jeffrey Schlagenhauf. Serbia is the 129th jurisdiction to join the Convention.

The OECD is encouraging tax administrations around the globe to step up their efforts to support the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing with the launch of a handbook intended to raise the awareness of tax examiners, auditors, and investigators of the important role they can play in combatting these crimes.

The OECD has just released new transfer pricing country profiles for Chile, Finland and Italy, bringing the total number of countries covered to 55. In addition, the OECD has updated the information contained in the country profiles for Colombia and Israel.

The OECD has added new features to its MLI Matching Database. The database now includes information on entry into effect dates for matched agreements and the option to calculate entry into effect dates on the basis of anticipated dates of deposits. The expanded database also includes references to synthesised texts, if available.

In order to support the automatic exchange of information collected under the OECD’s Model Mandatory Disclosure Rules on Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Avoidance Arrangements and Opaque Offshore Structures (MDRs), the OECD has today released the international administrative and operational framework for the exchange of information collected under the MDRs.

At their Summit in Osaka this weekend, G20 leaders agreed on a range of priorities for which analysis and support from the OECD and other international organisations are playing a crucial role.

The Global Forum Secretariat is assisting Morocco in preparing for its second round of peer review aimed at assessing its compliance with the international standard of exchange of information on request.