1. Peer Review of the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information 2020
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes is a multilateral framework for tax transparency and information sharing, within which over 160 jurisdictions participate on an equal footing. The Global Forum monitors and peer reviews the implementation of the international standards of Exchange of Information on Request (EOIR) and Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI). AEOI provides for the automatic exchange of a predefined set of financial account information between tax authorities on an annual basis in order to assist them in ensuring the correct amount of tax is paid. To ensure the AEOI standard is fully effective, the Global Forum carries out a review of each jurisdiction’s domestic and international legal frameworks to ensure they are complete, and a review of the effectiveness of the implementation of the standard in practice. This report presents the conclusions of the peer reviews of the legal frameworks put in place by each jurisdiction to implement the AEOI standard. The results relate to the 100 jurisdictions that committed to commence AEOI from 2017 or 2018. The Global Forum has also begun the reviews of the effectiveness in practice of the implementation of the standard, the results of which are expected to be published in 2022.
2. Harmful Tax Practices – 2019 Peer Review Reports on the Exchange of Information on Tax Rulings
BEPS Action 5 is one of the four minimum standards which all members of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS have committed to implement. One part of the Action 5 minimum standard is the transparency framework for compulsory spontaneous exchange of information on certain tax rulings which, in the absence of transparency, could give rise to BEPS concerns. Over 130 jurisdictions have joined the Inclusive Framework and take part in the peer review to assess their compliance with the transparency framework. Specific terms of reference and a methodology have been agreed for the peer reviews to assess a jurisdiction’s implementation of the minimum standard. The review of the transparency framework assesses jurisdictions against the terms of reference which focus on five key elements: i) information gathering process, ii) exchange of information, iii) confidentiality of the information received; iv) statistics on the exchanges on rulings; and v) transparency on certain aspects of intellectual property regimes. The reviews of confidentiality of the information received defer to the work of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and the outcomes of that work are not published. Recommendations are issued where improvements are needed to meet the minimum standard. This report reflects the outcome of the annual peer review of the implementation of the Action 5 minimum standard and covers 124 jurisdictions. It assesses implementation for the 1 January – 31 December 2019 period.
3. Public comments received on the Reports on Pillar One and Pillar Two Blueprints
On 12 October 2020, as part of the ongoing work to develop a solution to the tax challenges of the digitalisation of the economy, the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS invited public comments on the Reports on the Pillar One and Pillar Two Blueprints. The OECD has now published the public comments received.
4. Information on the state of implementation of the hard-to-value intangibles approach by members of the Inclusive Framework on BEPS
The OECD has published jurisdiction-specific information on the implementation of the hard-to-value intangibles (“HTVI”) approach. To date, 40 jurisdictions have provided information on whether their domestic legal system provides for transfer pricing rules aimed at transactions involving HTVI.
The publication of this information is part of the monitoring process of the implementation of the HTVI approach agreed by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS, whereby participating jurisdictions report on their legislation and administrative practices relevant to the application of the HTVI approach. Importantly, this information provides tax administrations, taxpayers and other stakeholders with a better understanding of the extent to which the HTVI approach has been adopted and applied in practice by countries around the world, with the aim to reduce misunderstandings and disputes between governments. The information published today was provided by those countries to which the information relates.
The HTVI approach was the outcome of the work done under Action 8 of the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, which is found in the 2015 Final Report for Actions 8-10, Aligning Transfer Pricing Outcomes with Value Creation and it was formally incorporated into the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines (Guidelines), as Section D.4 of Chapter VI. The HTVI approach protects tax administrations from the negative effects of information asymmetry by ensuring that they can consider ex post outcomes as presumptive evidence about the appropriateness of ex-ante pricing arrangements. At the same time, the approach permits taxpayers to rebut such presumptive evidence by demonstrating the reliability of the information supporting the pricing methodology adopted at the time the controlled transaction took place. In 2018, the HTVI approach was supplemented with a new annex to Chapter VI of the Guidelines that contains guidance that would ensure a common understanding and practice among tax administrations on how to apply adjustments resulting from the application of the HTVI approach.
Further information on the state of jurisdictions’ transfer pricing legislation and practices can be found in the Transfer Pricing Country Profiles.
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