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Azerbaijan joins OECD's project on tax transparency

9 October 2019 13:27 (UTC+04:00)
Azerbaijan joins OECD's project on tax transparency

By Rasana Gasimova

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has hailed Azerbaijan for joining the project “Applying package of measures against tax base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS)”, saying “that this is a stop towards transparency in international taxation”.

Ben Dickinson, Head of the Global Relations and Development Division at the OECD’s Center for Tax Policy and Administration made remarks during the Fifth Regional meeting on BEPS for Eurasian countries held in Baku, Trend reported on October 8.

Dickinson said that this project provides for the reflection of internal legislative acts of states in order to combat the erosion of the tax base, and the provisions adopted by the OECD as a standard in their international agreements. He added that 134 countries have joined this project so far.

Speaking at the event, Ilkin Veliyev, Azerbaijani Deputy Tax Minister noted that the development of international tax cooperation and the application of international standards in this area is one of the successful ways to fight tax evasion.

The Deputy Minister informed the participants about the ongoing reforms in Azerbaijan’s tax system, noting that important work was done to reduce the shadow economy and improve the tax environment, legalize the informal labor market, stimulate the development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) through more effective tax benefits, improve tax administration and digitization.

Veliyev also mentioned that Azerbaijan has not joined the Inclusive Framework on BEPS yet, but the government has already done important work to introduce international standards of the information exchange, and these activities continue to be carried out.

The regional meeting with the participation of about 80 representatives of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Taxes, local and foreign governmental authorities, the private sector, educational institutions, international and regional organizations is planned to continue until October 10.

The OECD G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project (or BEPS Project) is an OECD/G20 project to set up an international framework to combat tax avoidance by multinational enterprises ("MNEs") using base erosion and profit shifting tools. The project, led by the OECD's Committee on Fiscal Affairs, began in 2013 with OECD and G20 countries, in a context of financial crisis and tax affairs (e.g. Offshore Leaks). Currently, after the BEPS report has been delivered in 2015, the project is now in its implementation phase, 116 countries are involved, including a majority of developing countries. During two years, the package was developed by participating members on an equal footing, as well as widespread consultations with jurisdictions and stakeholders, including business, academics and civil society. And since 2016, the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS provides for its 116 members a platform to work on an equal footing to tackle BEPS, including through peer review of the BEPS minimum standards, and monitoring of implementation of the BEPS package as a whole.

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