BRICS Summit Declaration Notes Progress on Tax and Customs Cooperation

28 June, 2022

  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

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UK: HMRC exercises new powers to combat electronic sales fraud

02 June, 2022

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

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UK: Research on Benefits of Money Service Businesses

10 May, 2022

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,

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OECD: Tax Transparency in Latin America

04 May, 2022

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

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OECD: Assessing Tax Compliance and Illicit Financial Flows in South Africa

29 April, 2022

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

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ECOSOC: Meeting to Discuss International Cooperation in Tax Matters

19 April, 2022

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

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OECD: Fourth Peer Review Report on Prevention of Tax Treaty Abuse

22 March, 2022

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

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OECD: Request for Public Input on the Implementation Framework for the Global Minimum Tax

16 March, 2022

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

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UK: Finance Act 2022 receives Royal Assent

07 March, 2022

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

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IMF: New Database on Special Purpose Entities

03 March, 2022

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

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OECD Tax Talk looks at international tax developments

22 February, 2022

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

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OECD: Combating Tax Evasion and Financial Crimes in Latin America

20 February, 2022

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

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IMF Report Assesses Colombia’s Economy

17 February, 2022

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.

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UK: HMRC Seizes Non-Fungible Tokens in Fraud Investigation

16 February, 2022

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.

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IMF Report Examines the Economy of South Africa

11 February, 2022

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

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IMF: Report Looks At Jordan’s Fiscal Position

09 January, 2022

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

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IMF: Report on the economy of North Macedonia

05 January, 2022

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

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OECD: Building Effective Beneficial Ownership Frameworks

24 November, 2021

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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