Harmful Tax Practices - 2020 Peer Review Reports on the Exchange of Information on Tax Rulings

BEPS Action 5 is one of the four minimum standards which all members of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS have committed to implement. One part of the Action 5 minimum standard is the transparency framework for compulsory spontaneous exchange of information on certain tax rulings which, in the absence of transparency, could give rise to BEPS concerns. 140 jurisdictions have joined the Inclusive Framework and take part in the peer review to assess their compliance with the transparency framework.

Specific terms of reference and a methodology have been agreed for the peer reviews to assess a jurisdiction's implementation of the minimum standard. The review of the transparency framework assesses jurisdictions against the terms of reference which focus on five key elements: i) information gathering process, ii) exchange of information, iii) confidentiality of the information received; iv) statistics on the exchanges on rulings; and v) transparency on certain aspects of intellectual property regimes. The reviews of confidentiality of the information received defer to the work of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and the outcomes of that work are not published. Recommendations are issued where improvements are needed to meet the minimum standard.

This report reflects the outcome of the annual peer review of the implementation of the Action 5 minimum standard and covers 131 jurisdictions. It assesses implementation for the 1 January - 31 December 2020 period.