Representatives of more than 80 countries and jurisdictions have gathered in Kyoto, Japan to push forward ongoing efforts to update international tax rules for the 21st century, the latest step in the OECD/G20 Project to tackle Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). 

The meeting marks the first time that a broad range of countries, representing varying levels of development, come together on an equal footing in the OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs, and inaugurates the new inclusive framework on BEPS implementation. 

 “Today we launch a new era in international tax,” said Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. “Through their participation in the decision-making as well as the technical working groups of the OECD's Committee on Fiscal Affairs, the members of the inclusive framework will now have a direct influence in shaping international tax rules to tackle BEPS and ensuring a level playing field.”

The BEPS Project delivers solutions for governments to close the gaps in existing international rules that allow corporate profits to « disappear » or be artificially shifted to low or no tax environments, where companies have little or no economic activity.