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This handbook is intended to assist the assessment teams and the reviewed jurisdictions that are participating in the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the “Global Forum”) peer reviews and non-member reviews. It provides contextual background information on the Global Forum   and the peer review process. It also contains key relevant documents and authoritative sources  that will guide assessors and reviewed jurisdictions through the peer review process. This handbook is also a unique source of information for governments academics and others interested in transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.  

This handbook is intended to assist the assessment teams and the reviewed jurisdictions that are participating in the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information (the “Global Forum”) peer reviews and non-member reviews.  It provides contextual background information on the Global Forum and the peer review process.  It also contains relevant key documents and authoritative sources that will guide assessors and reviewed jurisdictions throughout the peer review process.  Assessors should be familiar with the information and documents contained in this handbook as it will assist in conducting proper and fair assessments.  This handbook is also a unique source of information for governments, academics and others interested in transparency and exchange of information for tax purposes.

This Report was prepared by the Committee on Fiscal Affairs to consider ways to improve international co-operation with respect to the exchange of information in the possession of banks and other financial institutions for tax purposes.

Building on prior work that resulted in the practical guide Managing Service Demand, this report explores the strategies revenue bodies can use to improve take-up of self-service channels in the context of a proposed future service experience for individuals, businesses and tax intermediaries.

The report explores the role that inheritance taxation could play in raising revenues, addressing inequalities and improving efficiency in OECD countries. It provides background on the distribution and evolution of household wealth and inheritances, assesses the case for and against inheritance taxation drawing on existing theoretical and empirical literature, and examines the design of inheritance, estate and gift taxes in OECD countries. The report concludes with a number of reform options that governments could consider to improve the design and functioning of wealth transfer taxes.

The first report outlines the reasons why international tax avoidance and evasion through the use of tax havens is a concern to the tax authorities of OECD Member countries and examines measures introduced to combat such use. The second report sets out the problems posed for tax administrations by the fact that their resident taxpayers make use of base companies (generally subsidiary companies) in tax havens to shelter there income derived from source countries (which may in some cases be the residence country itself) and in that way to escape tax normally payable to the country of residence. The third report deals with the problems created for tax authorities in source countries by the mechanism of "treaty shopping". The final report deals with taxation and the abuse of bank secrecy.

This report reflects on the OECD’s co-operation with Africa on tax matters and the importance of the international tax agenda for African economies. It discusses Domestic Resource Mobilisation (DRM) efforts within African policy objectives and priorities, including the African Union’s Agenda 2063, and which actions should be taken to further increase DRM in Africa. The report analyses African involvement in discussions on corporate tax and how African participation in policy-setting and technical discussions could be further improved. In particular, it shows how African voices have shaped the design of the Two-Pillar Solution to Address the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy, and discusses its benefits for African countries and challenges for implementation. In addition, the report provides an overview of OECD’s initiatives to support capacity building on tax in Africa, many of which are undertaken in partnership with other international and regional organisations. Finally, the report reflects on the broader tax policy agenda including VAT, tax transparency, tax and crime, digitalisation of tax administrations, and tax and informality. This report was prepared by the OECD to inform the discussions at the October 2023 Africa Roundtable in Marrakech hosted by G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors.

The taxation of professional services and other activities of an independent character under Article 14 of the OECD Model Tax Convention is problematic. For example, what activities and entities fall within Article 14 as opposed to the business profits Article (Article 7)? Is the distinction between those activities and entities satisfactory and easy to apply? What are the practical differences between taxation under Article 7 and 14? This report analyses those questions in detail and concludes that there is no practical difference between the two Articles or if any differences did in fact exist, there is no valid policy justification for them. It recommends that Article 14 be eliminated from the Model and describes the changes that would need to be made to the Articles and Commentary of the Model as a consequence.

Die Mehrwertsteuer (die in einigen OECD-Ländern auch als Goods and Services Tax – GST – bzw. Güter- und Dienstleistungsteuer“ bekannt ist) ist weltweit zu einer sehr wichtigen Einnahmequelle der Staaten geworden. In etwa 165 Staaten wurde 2016, zum Zeitpunkt der Fertigstellung der internationalen Leitlinien für die Mehrwertbesteuerung, eine Mehrwertsteuer erhoben, mehr als doppelt so vielen wie noch vor 25 Jahren. Während die Mehrwertsteuer weltweit immer stärkere Verbreitung fand, expandierte auch der internationale „Waren- und Dienstleistungshandel rasch in einer zunehmend globalisierten Wirtschaft. Eine Folge dieser Entwicklungen ist die stärkere Interaktion zwischen den Mehrwertsteuersystemen, wobei ohne eine internationale Koordinierung der Mehrwertbesteuerung die Risiken der Doppelbesteuerung und unbeabsichtigten Nichtbesteuerung wachsen.
Mit den internationalen Leitlinien für die Mehrwertbesteuerung liegt nun ein Katalog international vereinbarter Standards und empfohlener Konzepte zur Bewältigung der Probleme vor, die aus der unkoordinierten Anwendung der nationalen Mehrwertsteuersysteme im Kontext des internationalen Handels erwachsen. Diese Leitlinien richten das Augenmerk besonders auf den Handel mit Dienstleistungen und immateriellen Werten, der die Gestaltung und Umsetzung der Mehrwertsteuersysteme weltweit vor zunehmend wichtige Herausforderungen stellt. Sie enthalten insbesondere die empfohlenen Prinzipien und Mechanismen zur Bewältigung der mit der Erhebung der Mehrwertsteuer auf den grenzüberschreitenden Verkauf digitaler Produkte verbundenen Herausforderungen, die im Kontext des OECD/G20-Projekts zu Gewinnverkürzung und Gewinnverlagerung (BEPS-Projekt) identifiziert wurden.
Die vorliegenden Leitlinien wurden im Rahmen einer Empfehlung des Rats der OECD im September 2016 angenommen.

El trabajo incardinado en esta acción acomete cambios en la definición del concepto de «establecimiento permanente» recogida en el Modelo de Convenio OCDE de cara a evitar la articulación de ciertas estrategias con fines elusivos y, más concretamente, para evitar tener una presencia fiscalmente imponible en un determinado país en virtud de las disposiciones de los convenios fiscales. Estos cambios servirán para garantizar que, cuando las actividades que realiza un intermediario en un país tengan como finalidad la celebración habitual de contratos que generan obligaciones que ha de cumplir una empresa extranjera, habrá que considerar que esta empresa tiene una presencia fiscalmente imponible en ese país, a menos que el intermediario realice esas actividades en el marco de una actividad independiente. Asimismo, dichos cambios limitarán, por un lado, la aplicación de determinadas excepciones a la definición de EP a las actividades que tengan un carácter preparatorio o auxiliar e impedirán poder acogerse a las excepciones al estatus de EP fragmentando un negocio en funcionamiento y cohesionado en varias operaciones pequeñas y, por otro lado, abordarán todas aquellas situaciones en las que se elude la excepción aplicable a obras o proyectos de construcción o instalación mediante el fraccionamiento de contratos entre empresas estrechamente vinculadas.

El presente informe incluye las modificaciones al texto del Modelo de Convenio Tributario sobre la Renta y sobre el Patrimonio de la OCDE (MC OCDE) dirigidas a impedir la utilización abusiva de convenios fiscales. En primer lugar, comienza por abordar el tema relacionado con la adopción de soluciones de conveniencia o la aplicación del convenio más favorable (treaty shopping) a través de cláusulas y disposiciones alternativas que forman parte de un estándar básico que todos los países participantes en el Proyecto BEPS han decidido implementar. Adicionalmente, el informe alude a la inclusión de normas específicas que han de incorporarse a los convenios fiscales a fin de atajar otras formas de uso abusivo de las disposiciones de aquéllos y de asegurarse de que dichos convenios no impidan involuntariamente la aplicación de cláusulas antiabuso internas. Finalmente, el informe incluye modificaciones al texto del MC OCDE a modo de aclaración de que los convenios fiscales no se han concebido para generar situaciones de no imposición o de reducción de impuestos mediante la evasión fiscal o el abuso del Derecho (incluyendo prácticas constitutivas de treaty shopping), al tiempo que describen las consideraciones de índole fiscal que los países han de tener en cuenta antes de decidirse a suscribir un convenio con otro país.

Het doel van dit handboek is de bevordering van het bewustzijn van medewerkers van de Belastingdienst met betrekking tot omkoping en andere vormen van corruptie. Het boek vormt een leidraad voor het herkennen van indicatoren van mogelijke omkoping of corruptie die zij bij de heffing en controle van belastingen kunnen tegenkomen.

This Report was prepared by the Committee on Fiscal Affairs to consider ways to improve international co-operation with respect to the exchange of information in the possession of banks and other financial institutions for tax purposes.