MEMBERS of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS (Inclusive Framework) continue to make steady progress in the implementation of the BEPS package to tackle international tax avoidance, as the OECD releases the latest peer review report assessing jurisdictions' efforts to prevent tax treaty shopping and other forms of treaty abuse under Action 6 of the OECD/G20 BEPS Project. A revised peer review document forming the basis of the assessment of the BEPS Action 6 minimum standard was also released today.

The sixth peer review report on the implementation of the Action 6 minimum standard on treaty shopping, which includes data on tax treaties concluded by jurisdictions that were members of the Inclusive Framework on 31 May 2023, reveals that most agreements concluded between the members of the Inclusive Framework are either already compliant with the Action 6 minimum standard or will shortly come into compliance.

Consistent with previous years, the report (also available in French) confirms the importance of the BEPS Multilateral Instrument (BEPS MLI) as the tool used by the vast majority of jurisdictions in the implementation of the BEPS Action 6 minimum standard.

The BEPS MLI has continued to significantly expand the implementation of the minimum standard for the jurisdictions that have ratified it. The impact and coverage of the BEPS MLI continue to increase as additional jurisdictions sign and ratify it. To date, the BEPS MLI covers 102 jurisdictions and around 1 900 bilateral tax treaties.

As one of the four minimum standards, BEPS Action 6 identified treaty abuse, and in particular treaty shopping, as one of the principal sources of BEPS concerns. Treaty shopping typically involves the attempt by a person to access indirectly the benefits of a tax agreement between two jurisdictions without being a resident of one of those jurisdictions. To address this issue, all members of the Inclusive Framework have committed to implementing the Action 6 minimum standard and participate in a periodic peer review process to monitor its accurate implementation.

The 2024 revised peer review documents (available in French) also released today form the basis on which the peer review process will be undertaken as of 2024. The consolidated document includes the Terms of Reference which set out the criteria for assessing the implementation of the Action 6 minimum standard, and the Methodology which sets out the procedural mechanism by which the review will be conducted. In light of the successful implementation of the Action 6 minimum standard to date, the revised methodology now provides ongoing targeted assistance to those members of the Inclusive Framework that still need to implement the Action 6 minimum standard with a comprehensive peer review process to be carried out once every five years.