Browse by: "2022"

The 2020 report Tax Administration 3.0: The Digital Transformation of Tax Administration identified electronic invoicing as one of the projects for further exploration. This report, Tax Administration 3.0 and Electronic Invoicing: Initial Findings, examines the current state of play on electronic invoicing based on a global survey. It also draws out some considerations that administrations exploring possible implementation or reform of such systems may wish to take into account. This report contains a number of case studies and examples from countries which have implemented electronic invoicing. This report was developed by officials from Canada, Chile, China (People’s Republic of), Hungary, Spain, and supported by the Secretariat of the OECD’s Forum on Tax Administration.

The 2020 report Tax Administration 3.0: The Digital Transformation of Tax Administration identified effective digital identity as one of the core building blocks for enabling seamless tax administration as it can help provide a secure connection between the systems of tax administrations and taxpayers. This report, Tax Administration 3.0 and the Digital Identification of Taxpayers: Initial Findings explores the current state of play on digital identity, the different domestic solutions adopted in a number of jurisdictions as well as the challenges related to cross-border processes. It also lays the groundwork for future collaborative work with business and other stakeholders in this area. This report was developed by officials from Australia, Canada, Finland, Indonesia, Spain, Norway, the United States, and supported by the Secretariat for the Forum on Tax Administration.

The report Tax Capacity Building: A Practical Guide to Developing and Advancing Tax Capacity Building Programmes aims to assist tax administrations globally in advancing their tax capacity building programmes by describing good practices, by looking at tools and approaches that improve co-ordination, and by sharing knowledge. While the report primarily focuses on the development of a tax administration’s own capacity-building programme, elements of this report may also prove useful to those providing other forms of assistance, for example, through the support of programmes undertaken by the domestic development agency or through the support of regional or multilateral initiatives.

A key part of the OECD/G20 BEPS Project is addressing the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy. In October 2021, over 135 jurisdictions joined a ground-breaking plan to update key elements of the international tax system which is no longer fit for purpose in a globalised and digitalised economy. The Global Anti-Base Erosion Rules (GloBE) are a key component of this plan and ensure large multinational enterprise pay a minimum level of tax on the income arising in each of the jurisdictions where they operate. More specifically, the GloBE Rules provide for a co-ordinated system of taxation that imposes a top-up tax on profits arising in a jurisdiction whenever the effective tax rate, determined on a jurisdictional basis, is below the minimum rate. This Commentary to the GloBE Rules provides tax administrations and taxpayers with guidance on the interpretation and application of those rules in order to promote a consistent and common interpretation of the GloBE Rules that will facilitate coordinated outcomes for both tax administrations and MNE Groups. This Commentary explains the intended outcomes under the GloBE Rules and clarifies the meaning of certain terms. It also illustrates the application of the rules to certain fact patterns.

In October 2021, the international community agreed a landmark deal on the two-pillar solution to the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation and the globalisation of the economy. As part of this plan, Pillar Two establishes a global minimum effective corporate tax rate of 15% for large multinational enterprises (MNEs) which has important implications for the use of tax incentives around the world. This report, prepared at the request of the Indonesian G20 Presidency, provides a number of concrete considerations for countries to take into account as they prepare for the implementation of Pillar Two. Wherever tax incentives drive an MNE’s effective tax rate (ETR) in a jurisdiction below 15%, the MNE would potentially be subject to top-up taxes under the GloBE Rules, a core component of Pillar Two. These rules may have an impact on the effectiveness of certain tax incentives. Therefore, the design of tax incentives will require careful reconsideration in a post-Pillar Two environment. The report considers the existing use of tax incentives in developed and developing countries, analyses key provisions of the GloBE Rules and shows how they may impact different types of tax incentives differently. The report concludes with policy considerations for countries.

The issue of trust between Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) and tax administrations is a vital part of the tax system, but relatively little studied. Building on previous OECD research on tax morale, which measures taxpayer perceptions and attitudes towards paying and evading taxes, this report presents new data on how tax administrations perceive MNE behaviour towards tax compliance. With a particular focus on the challenges facing developing countries, this report brings together this data with previous data on MNE perceptions, and the outcomes of a series of regional roundtables on tax morale held between tax administrations and MNEs. Having identified a number of challenges around trust, transparency and openness, the report sets out a range of approaches to help build trust, improve communications, and build more effective relationships between taxpayers and tax administrations.

This is the seventh edition of Tax Policy Reforms: OECD and Selected Partner Economies, an annual publication that provides comparative information on tax reforms across countries and tracks tax policy developments over time. The report covers the tax policy reforms introduced or announced in 71 member jurisdictions of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, including all OECD countries, for the 2021 calendar year. In addition to providing an overview of tax policy reforms, and the macroeconomic and tax revenue context in which measures were introduced, the report also contains a Special Feature that examines government responses to rising energy prices and offers some policy recommendations in the event that prices remain high.

Although men and women are typically taxed under the same rules, their different social and economic characteristics (e.g. income levels or labour force participation) mean that the tax system can inadvertently contribute to gender inequalities in society. Understanding and improving the impact of taxes on gender equality is a key dimension that governments need to consider as part of tax design to support inclusive growth. This report provides the first cross-country overview of governments' approaches to tax policy and gender, including reforms undertaken to date and potential areas of explicit and implicit gender bias. Covering 43 countries, it also explores the extent to which governments take into account gender implications in policy development, gender considerations in tax administration and compliance, and the availability and use of gender-disaggregated data. Finally, it also discusses priorities for further work on tax policy and gender issues.

This Test Guideline (TG) describes a harmonised procedure to determine the Volume Specific Surface Area (VSSA) of powdered solid manufactured nanomaterials (MNs). The VSSA (in m2/cm3) of a material is calculated by multiplying its mass specific surface area (in m2/g) with its skeletal density (in g/cm3). The determination of the external and internal (mass) specific surface area (SSA) of powdered solid MNs is done by the Brunauer, Emmett and Teller (BET) method. This TG also provides instructions on how to determine the skeletal density (ρ) of the MN by gas pycnometry.

The Rapid Androgen Disruption Activity Reporter (RADAR) Test Guideline describes an aquatic assay that utilizes transgenic Oryzias latipes (O. latipes, Japanese medaka) eleutheroembryos at day post hatch zero, in a multi-well format to detect chemicals active on the androgen axis. The RADAR assay was designed as a screening tool to provide a short-term assay to measure the response of eleutheroembryos to chemicals potentially active on the androgen axis. Test organisms are exposed for 72 hours in six-well plates in the presence and absence of a co-treatment with 17-methyl testosterone. The assay comprises five concentrations of the test chemical. At the end of the exposure, fluorescence imaging is measured and transformed into a numerical format; the statistical analysis and data interpretation procdure enable to determine whether the test chemical is considered active or not active.

This Test Guideline describes a standardised method to examine the transformation of chemicals in pig and cattle liquid manure under anaerobic conditions. The experiments are performed to determine the rate of transformation of the test chemical, the identity and rates of formation and decline of transformation products and residues). Such studies are relevant for chemicals that are administered to housed animals and are subsequently excreted (e.g. veterinary medicinal products or feed additives) or for chemicals that are applied in buildings for livestock and may also enter the manure collected from these animal housings (e.g. biocides). Pesticides may also be introduced into manure via contaminated animal feed.

This Test Guideline describes an in vivo erythrocyte Pig-a gene mutation assay (hereafter called the Pig-a assay) which uses an endogenous mammalian gene, the phosphatidylinositol glycan class A gene (Pig-a), as a reporter of somatic-cell gene mutation. In vivo gene mutation tests, such as the Pig-a assay, are especially relevant for assessing mutagenicity because physiological factors, such as absorption of the test chemical from the site of exposure, distribution of the test chemical throughout the test system via systemic circulation, and in vivo metabolism and DNA repair processes, all contribute to the mutagenic responses. The Pig-a assay can be performed with commonly used strains of rats or mice and the test can be conducted without euthanizing the animals. These properties facilitate integration of the Pig-a assay into many in vivo rodent testing protocols.

This Test Guideline describes an in vivo assay that detects chemicals that may induce gene mutations in somatic and germ cells. In this assay, transgenic rats or mice that contain multiple copies of chromosomally integrated plasmid or phage shuttle vectors are used. The transgenes contain reporter genes for the detection of various types of mutations induced by test chemicals. A negative control group and a minimum of 3 treatment groups of transgenic animals are treated for 28 consecutive days. Administration is followed by a period of time, prior to sacrifice, during which the agent is not administered and during which unrepaired DNA lesions are fixed into stable mutations. At the end of this period (usually 3 or 28 days depending on the cell type and requirements), the animals are sacrificed, genomic DNA is isolated from the tissue(s) of interest and purified. Mutations that have arisen during treatment are scored by recovering the transgene and analysing the phenotype of the reporter gene in a bacterial host deficient for the reporter gene. Mutant frequency, the reported parameter in these assays, is calculated by dividing the number of plaques/plasmids containing mutations in the transgene by the total number of plaques/plasmids recovered from the same DNA sample.

Ireland is at a turning point for the transition to a circular economy. The 2022 Whole of Government Circular Economy Strategy provides the policy framework for the circular economy in the country, and the forthcoming Circular Economy Bill is expected to strengthen waste and circular economy legislation. Nevertheless, with a circularity material use rate of 2% in 2020, Ireland shows significant scope for progress. The report analyses the state of play and challenges of the circular transition in Ireland and provides policy recommendations for circular economy policy across levels of government. It is the result of a two-year policy dialogue between the OECD, the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, as well as a broad range of public, private and civil society stakeholders.