(06 October 2015) – The OECD hopes its plan to combat tax evasion will mark the end of an era. But NGOs have criticised its lack of ambition.
The international fight against tax evasion has reached a new level. After two years of preparation, the OECD unveiled the final version of its action plan to tackle tax evasion by multinational companies.
Supported by over 90 countries, the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) project will be approved by the G20 finance ministers in Lima, ahead of its final adoption by the heads of state and government at the Antalya summit (in Turkey) on 14 and 15 November.
The application of “transfer prices” between subsidiaries of the same group, to discourage companies to relocate their profits to tax havens is among the flagship measures of the package.Another is the implementation of the automatic exchange of information on tax rulings, the agreements signed between states and multinational companies.
But the action plan has been broadly criticised by NGOs. They say it lacks ambition, particularly on the questions of country by country transparency and “cash boxes”. These tax provisions, widely used by multinational companies to transfer their profits abroad and reduce their tax burden, were left out of the final action plan. (EurActiv)