The Government on 14th of June 2017, approved the signing by Nigeria of the Multilateral Instrument (MLI) to implement into bilateral tax treaties the tax treaty-related measures arising from the OECD / G20 BEPS Project to tackle base erosion and profit shifting. First signing ceremony held on 7th of June 2017 in Paris. That time, eight countries, including Nigeria formally expressing their intent to sign.
The BEPS recommendations combat tax planning strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations where there is little or no economic activity, resulting in little or no overall corporate tax being paid. The multilateral instrument will enable countries to adjust their bilateral tax treaties to include BEPS treaty-related recommendations without having to renegotiate each bilateral treaty.
