INTERNATIONAL TAX PLAZA - Finally a start can be made with trying to solve the jigsaw; 68 jurisdictions have signed the OECD’s MLI

Do you remember your childhood, when you loved to be the first one to solve jigsaws and riddles? Well the latest jigsaw is not produced by Jumbo or Hasbro, but by the OECD and it came onto the market under the name Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS. The first version of this giant jigsaw came on the market on June 7, 2017 and we bet that YOU as THE TAX EXPERT TO GO TO want to be the first one to solve it.

On June 7, 2017 68 countries/jurisdictions have signed the OECD’s Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS (Hereafter: the MLI). According to the OECD another 8 countries have expressed their intention to do so.

The OECD has made a list of signatories available. By clicking on the name of a certain jurisdiction one is forwarded to the “Status of List of Reservations and Notifications at the Time of Signature”. In that list the respective jurisdiction a.o. provides a list of DTAs that respective jurisdiction wishes to be covered by the MLI, what options that jurisdiction wishes to be applied, etc. Since the MLI only has effect if both signatorities to a bilateral DTA wish the MLI to cover that DTA and if both signatories have chosen the same option to apply (this where the possibility to choose an option exists), tax experts can now make a start with solving the giant jigsaw of if and what impact the MLI might have on a specific bilateral DTA.

And when you have solved the jigsaw, let’s hope a jurisdiction does not change its position between the moment of signing and the moment on which it deposits its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval of the Convention. Because then we have a new jigsaw to solve.

So for those that want to relive their childhood and want to start solving this complex jigsaw, much of the information you need can be found here:

· List of signatories to the MLI

· Text of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS

· Explanatory Statement to the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS

· Links to the texts of many bilateral DTAs

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