The OECD seeks to encourage an environment in which fair competition can take place. In the tax area this means promoting principles that enable each country to apply its own tax laws without interference of practices that undermine the fairness and integrity of each country’s tax system. The OECD does not seek to dictate to any country what its tax rate should be, or how its tax system should be structured.  Instead, it works to build support for fair competition so as to minimise tax induced distortions and to increase taxpayer confidence in the even handed application of tax rules.

With this objective in view, the OECD established a Forum on Harmful Tax Practices which set out criteria for analyzing preferential regimes and has worked since 1998 with member to address harmful tax practices.

Much progress has been made with over 60 regimes being identified as potentially harmful and all of which have either been abolished, modified or on a more in-depth analysis, found to be not harmful. The Forum on Harmful Tax Practices continues to monitor developments in preferential regimes.

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