Tax Administration

Implementing tax policy in an increasingly globalised world is becoming more challenging for tax administrators. Recognising the increasing importance of the strategic management of tax administration issues, the Committee on Fiscal Affairs established the Forum on Tax Administration.

**For access to all FTA related information and publications, please visit www.oecd.org/tax/fta

What's new

7th meeting of the Forum on Tax Administration: Strengthening Tax Compliance through Cooperation

19-Jan-2012

The 7th meeting of the Forum on Tax Administration, which brought together the heads of tax administrations from 43 countries, concluded with a unified and strengthened commitment to combat offshore tax abuse.

Social Media Technologies and Tax Administration

13-Oct-2011

This information note summarises the findings of a survey conducted by the Forum on Tax Administration’s Taxpayer Services Sub-group to assess the extent to which tax administrations are making use of social media. The note also provides background information about the main social media technologies and their deployment  in the private sector and by public sector agencies, including insights from early applications.

Revenue bodies and banks move towards transparent compliance

11-Oct-2011

Officials from revenue bodies, the banking sector and OECD met in Rome on 10-11 October to discuss ways to enhance the relationship between tax administrations and the banking industry and thus improve tax compliance.

Tax: Governments concerned that some corporations unfairly claim losses to avoid taxes

30-Aug-2011

Due to the recent financial and economic crisis, global corporate losses have increased significantly. Numbers at stake are vast, with loss carry-forwards as high as 25% of GDP in some countries. Though most of these claims are justified, some corporations find loop-holes and use ‘aggressive tax planning’ to avoid taxes in ways that are not within the spirit of the law.

Tax Repayments: Maintaining the Balance Between Refund Service Delivery, Compliance and Integrity

23-May-2011

The effective management of tax repayments is key in good tax administration, but revenue bodies face the ongoing challenge of balancing taxpayers’ expectations for high levels of service with their responsibility for preventing and dealing with fraud and error. This report is the result of research into the approaches and experiences of ten OECD countries and includes some key prompts for revenue bodies to consider in the design and operation of their repayment systems.

Fighting Financial Crime

21-Mar-2011

Oslo conference on Tax and Crime, 21-23 March, launches a whole of government approach in fighting financial crime.

Tackling Aggressive Tax Planning through Improved Transparency and Disclosure

01-Feb-2011

Aggressive tax planning is a major risk to the revenue base of many countries. Countries have developed a number of strategies to deal with aggressive tax planning. This report, approved by all OECD members, covers a range of approaches from mandatory disclosure rules to forms of co-operative compliance. The report provides a toolkit for those concerned with aggressive tax planning and recommends a careful review of the different approaches to inform both tax policy and compliance.

Dispute Resolution: Country Mutual Agreement Procedure Statistics for 2008 and 2009 Released

26-Nov-2010

As part of its ongoing work to improve the timeliness of processing and completing mutual agreement procedure (MAP) cases under tax treaties and to enhance the transparency of the MAP process, the OECD has made available statistics on MAP caseloads for OECD member countries and certain non-OECD economies for the 2008 and 2009 reporting periods. The statistics for these reporting periods now divide MAP cases into cases with OECD member countries and cases with non-OECD economies for countries that have provided that information.

OECD meets with business commentators on the scoping of its project on the transfer pricing aspects of intangibles

10-Nov-2010

On 9 November 2010, Working Party No. 6 met with commentators from the private sector to discuss the scoping of its new project on the Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles. The agenda for the day has now been published.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of Compliance Risk Treatment Strategies

28-Oct-2010

This guidance note, and accompanying background materials, set out a practical methodology for conducting outcome evaluations of compliance risk treatment strategies undertaken by revenue bodies in priority areas. The guidance draws on innovative work carried out by one of the leading revenue bodies in the OECD, and is supplemented by further practical guidance (including by way of many case study examples) from a number of other revenue bodies.

Understanding and Influencing Taxpayers' Compliance Behaviour - Information Note

28-Oct-2010

This information note contains an extensive review of compliance literature on the subject of influencing taxpayer behaviour as well as the results of inquiries conducted with selected revenue bodies participating in the Forum’s Compliance Sub-group.

The note acknowledges that while there is no simple answer as to how best influence taxpayer behaviour, the findings described in the note suggest that revenue bodies adopt a compliance strategy which combines both a deterrence approach and a normative approach, as described in the note.

2010 OECD Study on Offshore Voluntary Disclosure

27-Oct-2010

Vast amounts of tax are lost to offshore tax evasion every year. This publication shows how 39 countries (all OECD members as well as Argentina, China, India, Russia, and South Africa) deal with offshore tax evasion. What penalties are imposed, what interest rate is charged, what tax is due, what is the risk of criminal prosecution and imprisonment? This publication further addresses the issue of how best to design such initiatives.

Public comments received on the scoping of a new project on the Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles

23-Sep-2010

On 2 July 2010, the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs released an invitation to comment on the scoping of a future project on the Transfer Pricing Aspects of Intangibles, to be carried out by Working Party No. 6 on the Taxation of Multinational Enterprises. The OECD has now published the comments received. These comments will be discussed by the Working Party at its November 2010 meeting.

 

U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Douglas H. Shulman speaks before the OECD/BIAC

10-Jun-2010

On 8 June, U.S. Commissioner of Internal Revenue Douglas H. Shulman spoke before the OECD/BIAC in Washington, D.C. Addressing the OECD and leaders in the international tax and business community, he discussed important developments of the past year from an international tax perspective that included the continued increased cooperation and coordination among countries on tax issues.

FTA Guidance Notes on E-Auditing Standards

10-May-2010

Rapid developments in information and communication technology have had a great influence on the way of doing business, particularly in relation to business and accounting systems. Developments include integrated accounting systems, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems, automated internal audit measures and E-invoicing. The OECD has released a package of standards, in the form of five guidance notes, that leverage off these development and which are aimed at reducing the costs of tax compliance for businesses.

Survey of trends and developments in the use of electronic services for taxpayer service delivery

21-Apr-2010

The OECD FTA surveys member and selected non-member countries to assess revenue body progress with, and plans for, the deployment of modern electronic services in taxpayer service delivery. The latest survey report (also available in French and Spanish) contains an extensive assessment of the use of modern technology to deliver modern electronic services. It updates earlier research, and aims to provide a shared understanding amongst all revenue bodies on the stage of maturity of our industry in the development, delivery and effectiveness of electronic services.

Tax reference model – application software solutions being used to support revenue administration in selected countries

21-Apr-2010

Most revenue bodies have taken a unique approach to the selection & development of IT applications to support their business. Very little has yet been done to develop common solutions to common business needs. This report describes a capability model and explores the approaches, commercial solutions purchased or custom-built solutions developed, by twenty OECD FTA member countries against this capability model. Revenue bodies can see which commercial vendors and products have been used by others and consult with them on subjects such as capability and performance.

Programmes to reduce the administrative burden of tax regulations - follow up report

21-Apr-2010

Reducing administrative burdens is a priority in many countries. This report by the OECD’s Forum on Tax Administration is based on a survey of 20 OECD member countries, describes the strategies, approaches and measures being used by tax policy makers and revenue bodies to achieve their burden reduction targets. It describes the opportunities and barriers to burden reductions, citing a number of revenue body approaches and case studies. The report should be of assistance to tax policy makers and officials of revenue bodies engaged in or considering new burden reduction projects.

OECD establishes tax and development task force

28-Jan-2010

On 27 January, tax and development experts decided to set up an Informal Task Force on Tax and Development. With developing countries and other key stakeholders – including NGOs and business – as members, the Task Force will develop clear and effective mechanisms to make progress in the field of tax and development. With a mapping out of existing international efforts as its first assignment, participants agreed on a general set of principles to guide followup action and recognized the importance of working together and with other relevant international institutions. See the full Statement.

African Tax Administration Forum launched on 19-20 November 2009

20-Nov-2009

On 19-20 November the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) was launched by the President of Uganda. The ATAF mission is to mobilize domestic resources more effectively and increase the accountability of African States to African citizens whilst actively promoting an improvement in tax administration through sharing experiences, benchmarking and peer reviewing best practices.

See more news and events… Top of page

Comparative Information Series (2010)

Tax Administration in OECD and Selected Non-OECD Countries

Key material

Information for tax examiners on bribery techniques used and tools to detect and identify bribes.

2009 Bribery Awareness Handbook for Tax Examiners

www.itdweb.org

A joint initiative by the OECD, IMF and World Bank to facilitate discussion on tax matters

International Tax Dialogue