{"id":21658,"date":"2013-07-19T10:31:52","date_gmt":"2013-07-19T09:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/?p=21658"},"modified":"2013-07-19T10:31:52","modified_gmt":"2013-07-19T09:31:52","slug":"the-imf-sets-out-its-work-programme-on-international-tax-reform-and-it-seems-more-enlightened-than-the-oecd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taxresearch.org.uk\/Blog\/2013\/07\/19\/the-imf-sets-out-its-work-programme-on-international-tax-reform-and-it-seems-more-enlightened-than-the-oecd\/","title":{"rendered":"The IMF sets out its work programme on international tax reform – and it seems more enlightened than the OECD"},"content":{"rendered":"

The OECD is\u00a0dominating\u00a0debate on international tax this morning with its new report to the G20 about which I have commented \u00a0here<\/a>. However, it is not the only player in this arena. The IMF has just endorsed its own tax work programme<\/a> which ius much more broadly based than the OECD programme, largely because\u00a0it\u00a0explicitly\u00a0starts\u00a0from\u00a0a macro-economic perspective, whereas the OECD has a largely micro-focus. The result is that the IMF is keen to look at what it calls the 'spillover effects' - which it defines as the consequence of the tax policies of one state on the tax affairs of another. In the process it shows it has considerable sympathy with the\u00a0approach\u00a0I have used\u00a0in defining\u00a0secrecy jurisdictions.<\/p>\n

But perhaps most significant is this section, that I\u00a0reproduce\u00a0wholesale precisely because it shows that the IMF is more willing to\u00a0acknowledge\u00a0the copncerns fo civil society than the OECD is in its report:<\/p>\n

Dealing better with spillovers: Toward an improved international tax framework<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00ef\u201a\u00b7 There is considerable interest among civil society organizations and others in more\u00a0radical alternatives to the current international tax framework, such as \u00e2\u20ac\u2014formulary\u00a0apportionment\u2018 (allocating a multinational\u2018s global profits among countries by some\u00a0formula intended to proxy its \u00e2\u20ac\u2014real\u2018 relationships with those in which it operates, not by a\u00a0transactional arms-length basis) and some form of minimum taxation. Even if the\u00a0conclusion is that these are infeasible or undesirable, such schemes\u2013including their\u00a0impact on developing countries\u2013deserve a more thorough and realistic assessment.\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ef\u201a\u00b7 Other suggestions deserving close attention\u2013more in the nature of \u00e2\u20ac\u2014fixes\u2018 than deeper\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>improvements\u2013include wider use of minimum taxes and denial of deductions as a\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>response to profit shifting.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ef\u201a\u00b7 The general strategy of building an international tax structure around bilateral tax treaties\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>is being increasingly questioned. Key issues are when and whether domestic legislation\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>can achieve the same effects in better ways, and whether there is scope for increased\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>multilateralism.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ef\u201a\u00b7 The active but sometimes confused debate on \u00e2\u20ac\u2014country-by-country\u2018 reporting raises\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>questions as to whether countries\u2013especially developing\u2013have, or under current\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>arrangements, can obtain information needed to protect against erosion of their tax\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>bases. Beyond this are wider issues as to how best administrations can assess and\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>address the challenges of international taxation that they face, including in dealing with\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>current initiatives, in the wider context of their broader efforts to strengthen revenue\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>mobilization.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00ef\u201a\u00b7 Overarching all these questions is that of whether the spillovers, and countries\u2018 reactions\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>to them, are large enough to warrant deeper and fuller cooperation on international tax\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>matters\u2013and if so, given the great sensitivities in tax matters, what form might it take?\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p>\n

There may be lessons to draw from various regional efforts at this cooperation, several of\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em>which the Fund continues to be closely involved in.<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I do make one suggestion to the IMF though - on\u00a0country-by-country reporting. If they're confused, why not call me?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The OECD is\u00a0dominating\u00a0debate on international tax this morning with its new report to the G20 about which I have commented \u00a0here. However, it is not
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