Strategizing International Tax Best Practices – by Keith Brockman

Posts tagged ‘Peer review’

OECD: Tax ruling exchange

The OECD/G20d BEPS Project has published: Harmful Tax Practices – 2018 Peer Review Reports on the Exchange of Information on Tax Rulings, referenced herein.  This is the third annual peer review of the transparency framework. It covers individual reports for 112 jurisdictions, including 20 jurisdictions reviewed for the first time.

The transparency framework requires spontaneous exchange of information on five categories of taxpayer-specific rulings: (i) rulings related to certain preferential regimes, (ii) unilateral advance pricing arrangements (APAs) or other cross-border unilateral rulings in respect of transfer pricing, (iii) rulings providing for a downward adjustment of taxable adjustment of taxable profits (iv) PE rulings and (v) related party conduit rulings.

The requirement to exchange information on the rulings in the above categories includes certain past rulings as well as future rulings, pursuant to pre-defined periods which are outlined in each jurisdiction’s report and that varies according to the time when a certain jurisdiction has joined the Inclusive Framework or has been identified as a Jurisdiction of Relevance. The exchanges occur pursuant to international exchange of information agreements, which provide the legal conditions under which exchanges take place, including the need to ensure taxpayer confidentiality.

 

https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/7cc5b1a2-en.pdf?expires=1577490104&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=E74BCF40FC3C25437B469E07971C928B

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OECD

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OECD: Treaty abuse peer review report

The OECD recently published its peer review report on treaty shopping re: prevention of treaty abuse under the inclusive framework on BEPS Action 6.  A link to the document is included for reference.

Article 6 targeted treaty abuse; Action 15 introduced the multilateral instrument (MLI) to implement BEPS actions.  The MLI is the mechanism whereby countries are implementing the treaty-shopping minimum standard.

The first Peer Review shows the effectiveness of implementing the minimum standard for treaty abuse.  The intent of Action 6 is to stop treaty shopping in its entirety.

The treaty shopping minimum standard requires countries to include two components in their tax agreements; an express statement on non-taxation and one of three ways to address treaty-shopping.  The provisions require bilateral agreement.  The 2017 OECD Model Tax Convention includes the following express statement: “Intending to conclude a Convention for the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and on capital without creating opportunities for non-taxation or reduced taxation through tax evasion or avoidance…”

The three methods of addressing treaty shopping include;

  1. Principal Purpose Test (PPT) alone, or
  2. PPT with a simplified or detailed version of the Limitation on Benefits (LOB) rule, or
  3. Detailed LOB rule with a mechanism to deal with conduit arrangements.

As the MLI’s are agreed, it is important to understand the three methods above, and the express statement which includes reference to the elimination of double taxation, a concept which is sometimes ignored in the pursuit of perceived treaty / tax abuse.

 

https://read.oecd-ilibrary.org/taxation/prevention-of-treaty-abuse-peer-review-report-on-treaty-shopping_9789264312388-en#page1

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OECD

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OECD Exchange of tax information portal

As a follow up to the OECD G20 Report post on 8 September, information about the Exchange of Tax Information Portal is provided for further reference.  The respective jurisdiction can be selected, with agreements available via PDF files.  This site will be even more useful as countries complete the relevant Peer 1 and Peer 2 reviews.

The Exchange of Tax Information Portal is an initiative of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.  The Global Forum conducts peer reviews of its member jurisdictions’ ability to co-operate with other tax administrations in accordance with the internationally agreed standard. The standard provides for exchange of information on request where it is foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic tax laws of the requesting jurisdiction. Effective exchange of information requires that jurisdictions ensure information is available, that it can be obtained by the tax authorities and that there are mechanisms in place allowing for the exchange of that information. The Global Forum’s peer review process examines both the legal and regulatory aspects of exchange (Phase 1 reviews) and the exchange of information in practice (Phase 2). The EOI Portal will track the development of these peer reviews, including changes that jurisdiction’s make in response to the Global Forum’s recommendations.  The Portal can be accessed from the following link:

http://www.eoi-tax.org/jurisdictions/AR

The Exchange of Tax Information Portal site should be used, and shared, for valuable reference on this important and current initiative.

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OECD / UN, Tax Risk Management

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