Overview
GAO Releases Report on BEPS Country-By-Country Guidance: The Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report “Information on the Potential Impact on IRS and U.S. Multinationals of Revised International Guidance on Transfer Pricing,” requested by Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), addressing the impact of transfer pricing and country-by-country (CbC) reporting guidance produced by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) as part of its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. Stakeholders interviewed by the GAO said that CbC reporting requirements will increase compliance costs because CbC information is not information US multinational enterprises routinely collect or report, and thus will require new data systems and processes. Moreover, stakeholders believed that the new reporting requirements will increase audit activities and disputes, and potentially increase competitive and reputational risks.
Seven Countries Join Convention on Automatic Exchange of Country-by-Country Information: The OECD announced that Russia, Gabon, Hungary, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malta, and Mauritius have joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for Country-by-Country Reporting, which provides for the automatic exchange of country-by-country reports.