BRICS Summit Declaration Notes Progress on Tax and Customs Cooperation
Following the virtual BRICS summit held on 23 June 2022, the Beijing Declaration emphasised the need to cooperate to promote economic recovery. The BRICS group of emerging powers – Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – has
See MoreUK: HMRC exercises new powers to combat electronic sales fraud
On 31 May 2022 HMRC announced that a number of businesses had been visited and some arrests made following the introduction of new powers to combat the use of electronic sales suppression (ESS) systems. Around 30 businesses, including including
See MoreUK: Research on Benefits of Money Service Businesses
On 9 May 2022 the UK government published the results of research commissioned by HMRC to understand the economic and social benefits of the Money Service Business (MSB) sector in the UK. MSBs are businesses that allow customers to send money,
See MoreOECD: Tax Transparency in Latin America
On 3 May 2022 the OECD published the report Tax Transparency in Latin America 2022. The report was released during a meeting of the Punta del Este Declaration Initiative, which aims to tackle tax evasion and avoidance and other financial crimes by
See MoreOECD: Assessing Tax Compliance and Illicit Financial Flows in South Africa
On 25 April 2022 the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration issued jointly with South Africa’s National Treasury a publication entitled Assessing Tax Compliance and Illicit Financial Flows in South Africa. Achieving the
See MoreECOSOC: Meeting to Discuss International Cooperation in Tax Matters
The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) met on 8 April 2022 to consider international cooperation in tax matters. The discussions covered tax and the digital economy and illicit financial flows. Tax and the Digital Economy The meeting
See MoreOECD: Fourth Peer Review Report on Prevention of Tax Treaty Abuse
On 21 March 2022 the OECD released the fourth peer review report on tax treaty abuse under Action 6 of the action plan on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The report looks at the measures that member countries of the OECD’s
See MoreOECD: Request for Public Input on the Implementation Framework for the Global Minimum Tax
On 14 March 2022 the OECD issued a request for public input on the implementation framework for the global minimum tax under Pillar Two of the OECD/G20 two-pillar international tax proposals. This follows the release of the Commentary on the global
See MoreUK: Finance Act 2022 receives Royal Assent
On 25 February 2022 the UK Finance Act 2022 received the Royal Assent. The Act includes a number of further measures to combat promoters of tax avoidance schemes. HMRC powers HMRC is being given the power to present a winding-up petition to
See MoreIMF: New Database on Special Purpose Entities
On 2 March 2022 the IMF announced the release of a new database on special purpose entities (SPEs) showing cross-border flows and positions of SPEs and based on an internationally agreed definition of SPEs. The release of the database follows
See MoreOECD Tax Talk looks at international tax developments
The OECD Tax Talk held on 21 February 2022 provided an updated on important elements of tax work at the OECD. Two-Pillar International Tax Package Public consultations have begun and will cover the various building blocks of Pillar One on a
See MoreOECD: Combating Tax Evasion and Financial Crimes in Latin America
An OECD blog post on 9 February 2022 looked at the fight against tax evasion and financial crimes in the Latin America region and at lessons learned from initiatives of the OECD’s Task Force on Tax Crimes and Other Crimes (TFTC) and the Criminal
See MoreIMF Report Assesses Colombia’s Economy
On 15 February 2022 the IMF issued a report on the economy of Colombia following discussions under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. Colombia’s economy is projected to grow by 4.5% in 2022, led by household consumption.
See MoreUK: HMRC Seizes Non-Fungible Tokens in Fraud Investigation
The UK tax authority HMRC has for the first time seized non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in a case involving suspected fraud. NFTs serve effectively as digital ownership certificates for virtual assets (e.g. digital artwork) or physical assets (e.g.
See MoreIMF Report Examines the Economy of South Africa
On 11 February 2022 the IMF issued a report and a selected issues paper following discussions with South Africa under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. Economic growth was estimated at 4.6% in 2021 but is projected to reach only
See MoreIMF: Report Looks At Jordan’s Fiscal Position
On 20 December 2021 the IMF released a report following the third review under Jordan’s extended arrangement. The report noted that Jordan has remained on course with the reform program supported by the IMF, with macroeconomic stability
See MoreIMF: Report on the economy of North Macedonia
On 17 December 2021 the IMF published a report on the economy of North Macedonia following discussions under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. The economic impact of the pandemic has been mitigated by strong policy support which
See MoreOECD: Building Effective Beneficial Ownership Frameworks
In November 2021 the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, in collaboration with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), published a toolkit on Building Effective Beneficial Ownership
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