New OECD Manual on Assistance in the Collection of Taxes

Globalisation not only makes it harder for tax authorities to accurately determine the correct tax liabilities of their taxpayers: it also makes the collection of tax more difficult. Taxpayers may have assets throughout the world but tax authorities generally cannot go beyond their borders to take action to collect taxes. For this reason a new Article 27 on assistance in the collection of taxes was added to the OECD Model Tax Convention in 2003.

The OECD/Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters also includes provisions on the recovery of tax claims assistance in tax collection (Articles 11-16).

In 2007, in order to assist in the implementation of this form of assistance, the Committee on Fiscal Affairs developed and declassified a Manual on the Implementation of Assistance in Tax Collection based on Article 27 and the OECD/Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters.

The Manual provides practical and technical advice to tax officials involved in assistance in tax collection and may also be useful in designing or revising national manuals. It has been developed with the input of both member and non-member countries.

The Manual follows a modular approach. It includes a general module comprised of Part I general and legal aspects of assistance in tax collection Part II Conservancy measures and Part III practical aspects of assistance in tax collection and then two modules covering the following specific subject matters:

Module 1: Country profiles regarding assistance in tax collection 

Module 2: Instruments and Models on assistance in tax collection
Module 6: Glossary of tax collection terms used in the Manual.

The following Modules are currently under development:

Module 3: Model Memorandum of Understanding on Assistance in Tax collection based on Article 27 of the OECD Model Convention on Income and on Capital;
Module 4: Model Memorandum of Understanding on the recovery of tax claims based on the joint OECD/Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters

Module 5: Model Form for requests for  Assistance in the Recovery of Tax Claims