Mazars attends OECD consultation on BEPS Action 7

Mazars’ International Tax Policy Team welcomes the progress that the OECD has made to date and was very pleased to provide input on the Discussion Draft. You can read Mazars' comments which are published on the OECD website.

The BEPS Action Plan, containing 15 action points, focuses on tackling aggressive tax planning and tax avoidance by multinational companies, both publicly listed large corporates and SMEs. Our International Tax Policy Team agrees it is vital to arrive at a common set of rules that provide investors with a safe, sound environment and that unilateral action by counties is to be avoided. Many of the existing rules which protect multinational corporations from paying double taxation too often allow them to pay no taxes at all. These rules do not properly reflect today’s economic integration across borders, the value of intellectual property or new communications technologies. These gaps, which enable multinationals to eliminate or reduce their taxation on income, give them an unfair competitive advantage over smaller businesses. In the eyes of the pubic, it can negatively impact investment, growth, and employment, and can leave average citizens footing a larger chunk of the tax bill.

The Action 7 of the BEPS Action Plan is about preventing the artificial avoidance of permanent establishment status including proposals for changes to the definition of permanent establishment found in the OECD Model (2010). The Discussion Draft sets forth 14 proposed options for modifying the existing PE rules. For more information about BEPS Action Plan and the separate action points please visit Mazars Tax Policy Blog.