OECD public consultation on the GloBE information return – what you need to know

What is it about?

The GloBE Information Return (GIR) is intended to be a single return for an entire multinational group (called a multinational enterprise or MNE in the rules that support this initiative). The return is required to be filed by the ultimate parent entity (UPE) of the group which, if the top company is in a country that has adopted the rules, will be that company. Otherwise, there may be more than one return required for each sub-group.

A public consultation document on the GIR and a consultation on dispute resolution were published by the OECD on 20 December 2022 with comments invited by Friday 3 February 2023. All responses will be available on the OECD website. The consultation on the GIR is wide ranging and covers the whole of the GloBE regime.

It is worth noting that the obligation to share a GIR is separate from local tax return and filing obligations and the public consultation document does not comment on specific jurisdictional requirements, only those for the global return.

The consultation document lists, at Annex A, the data points which are considered sufficient to calculate the GloBE tax liability. As anyone who has been following the development of the Model Rules and the local implementation of them will know, there are an awful lot of data points.

Not all the data will be required for every jurisdiction and for every structure and the main point of the consultation is for groups to explain where simplifications would be appropriate.

What to do next?

The document is quite intuitive but also long. We have summarised the key points below. The main decision to make is whether your group would like to respond in any way. Responses could be:

• Directly from your group
• Via input into an accounting firm response
• Via a trade or industry body response

If you would like a say, please contact either a member of our Global GloBE Team (see below) or your usual contact to discuss how we can assist you in getting your points across best. We anticipate this being one of the last occasions where we can publicly influence both the direction of travel and the details.

The detail

Data points

The main bulk of the document relates to the full set of data points that could be required to calculate the GloBE top up tax in any jurisdiction. The data points are grouped in Annex A into four categories; guidance is provided, to some extent, against each data point:

• General information, which includes general information about the MNE Group and the Filing Constituent Entity.

• Corporate structure, which includes information about the corporate structure of the MNE Group, in particular each Constituent Entity’s ownership structure, whether it is required to apply the IIR and whether the UTPR could apply with respect to such Constituent Entity, as well as information about changes to the ownership structure that took place during the Fiscal Year. 

• ETR computation and Top-up Tax computation, which includes information about the Effective Tax Rate and Top-up Tax computations for those jurisdictions where Constituent Entities or members of JV Groups are located, as well as any elections made in accordance with the relevant provisions of the GloBE Rules. This section would also incorporate the simplified compliance procedures associated with any agreed safe harbours (currently only the transitional safe harbour).

• Top-up Tax allocation and attribution, which includes information on the attribution of Top-up Tax as well as those implementing jurisdictions where such Top-up Tax is payable in accordance with the agreed rule order. It further provides more details on the computation of each Parent Entity’s Allocable Share of Top-up Tax to apply the IIR and on the computation of the UTPR Top up Tax Amount, if any, as well as of the UTPR Percentage for each UTPR Jurisdiction, where applicable. 

Segmentation

• A section discussing reducing the amount of data required for some jurisdictions in some circumstances

Exchange of information

• A section outlining the need for continued work, including on a dedicated XML schema and IT solutions to support a single global point of filing and information sharing between fiscal authorities.

Risk assessment etc

Further work on risk assessment and follow up information requests announced (including on when to conduct a tax audit).

Areas to respond (summary)

On going through the document, we identified the following themes that are important. These are broadly then covered by the specific OECD questions below.

• Are the data points and explanations correct?
• What information should a group be expected to collect, retain and report to a tax administration?
• Can simplifications be made to the data points and guidance provided based on the nature and structure of some MNE groups?
• As not all jurisdictions may need all the data, is there merit in segmenting the GIR? What would the implications and burdens be in the light of MNE’s structures and expected GloBE tax liabilities?

Consultation questions

The consultation document requests answers to specific questions to cover these points as below:

• Do you have any comments relating to the data points identified in Annex A1? In particular, stakeholders are invited to:
  • Provide suggestions for simplified income or tax calculations that could be developed as part of the permanent safe harbours described in the document on safe harbours and penalty relief
  • identify cases where the MNE Group should not be required to collect all the data points
  • identify cases where the MNE Group should be able or might be required to collect different data points
  • identify circumstances where data points are not available at the Constituent Entity level or would create an unreasonable burden and where data points collected at the jurisdictional level may be sufficient.
• Do you have any comments on the explanations in the Notes set out in Annex A2?
• Do you have views on the amount and type of GloBE information that MNE Groups should be expected to collect, retain and report to the tax authority in order to maximise the efficiency, accuracy and the verifiability of information reported without undermining effective administration and risk assessment?
• Do you have any comments on the potential implications and burdens of the approach to the segmentation of the data points set out in Annex A1?
• Do you have views on the best way to integrate the reporting requirements applicable under a QDMTT in a jurisdiction with the provision of information in the GIR?
• Do you have any comments on the possibility of developing other administrative mechanisms to enhance tax certainty, facilitate further coordination and consistent application of the GloBE Rules?