News & Events

Does tax affect SME creation and growth?

15-Oct-2009

The taxation of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) is an important topic for policy makers, as SMEs make up the vast majority of businesses and typically account for the bulk of employment in OECD countries.  The OECD has just released Tax Policy Study No. 18: “Taxation of SMEs: Key Issues and Policy Considerations”, which examines a broad range of SME tax issues, including: the possible influence of taxation on SME creation, business structure and growth; arguments for and against tax incentives for SMEs; and measures to address a relatively high tax compliance burden on SMEs.

New handbook boosts anti-money laundering efforts

08-Oct-2009

Money laundering is a serious threat to the legal economy and affects the integrity of financial institutions. If left unchecked, it will corrupt society as a whole. The OECD has just released a handbook to help tax administrations detect and deter money laundering.

G20 Leaders welcome the expansion of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information

28-Sep-2009

In a statement following their 24-25 September meeting in Pittsburgh, the G20 leaders reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining the momentum in dealing with tax havens, money laundering, proceeds of corruption, terrorist financing, and prudential standards.

Dispute Resolution: Country Mutual Agreement Procedure Statistics Released

25-Sep-2009

Two key objectives of the OECD work on the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) under tax treaties were to improve the timeliness of processing and completing MAP cases and to enhance the transparency of the MAP process. To those ends, the OECD has decided to make available to the public, via its website, annual statistics on the MAP caseloads of member countries and of non-OECD economies that agree to provide such statistics.

MAP statistics have now been provided for 2006 and 2007. Statistics for subsequent reporting periods will be posted on the OECD website as they become available.

The Council of Europe and OECD are strengthening their joint Convention to combat tax evasion

25-Sep-2009

On the eve of the Pittsburgh G20 Summit, the OECD and the Council of Europe agreed to improve international cooperation to combat tax evasion. The standards set by the joint 1988 Council of Europe and OECD Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters will be updated to reflect the new consensus for closer international co-operation.

G20: International standards on structural policies key to emerging from crisis

25-Sep-2009

Welcoming the adoption of the Framework for Strong, Sustainable and Balanced Growth by G20 leaders gathered in Pittsburgh for the G20 summit, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said new sources of jobs and growth needed for the global economy to effect a sustained recovery, will only emerge if the right structural policies are adopted by the world’s leading global economies.

OECD holds a major Conference “Transfer Pricing and Treaties in a Changing World”

22-Sep-2009

On 21-22 September 2009, the OECD held a major conference “Transfer Pricing and Treaties in a Changing World”. Almost 700 transfer pricing and treaty experts from over 90 governments (OECD and non-OECD), the private sector, NGOs, academia and international organisations gathered in Paris for the event. In his opening address, Jeffrey Owens, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, stressed the significance of transfer pricing for OECD as well as non-OECD economies.

Developments in VAT Compliance Management in Selected Countries

17-Sep-2009

With government budgets under pressure in many countries, revenue bodies have a critical role to play in achieving improved compliance with tax laws. This information note has been prepared to assist member revenue bodies achieve improved compliance with their VAT systems by sharing knowledge of recent developments in selected countries.

Withholding and Information Reporting Regimes for Small/Medium-sized Business and Self-employed Taxpayers

17-Sep-2009

With government budgets under pressure in many countries, revenue bodies have a significant role to play in achieving improved compliance with tax laws. This information note has been prepared to assist revenue bodies advance their thinking on the use of legislated withholding and information reporting regimes for obtaining improved compliance in respect of income from SME/ self-employment activities.

Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles implement internationally agreed tax standard

11-Sep-2009

Aruba and the Netherlands Antilles have signed bilateral agreements with seven Nordic economies - Denmark, the Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden - on exchange of information for tax purposes.

This moves both jurisdictions into the category of ‘Jurisdictions that have substantially implemented the internationally agreed tax standard’ in the Progress Report initially published by the OECD Secretariat on 2 April 2009. Eight jurisdictions have now moved into the substantially implemented category since the Progress Report was first published.