The Treasurer has announced that the Cairns meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors has agreed to modernise global tax rules and close gaps that have emerged in recent years.
He said the meeting endorsed the automatic exchange of tax information on a reciprocal basis using a Common Reporting Standard (CRS), as proposed by the G20/OECD BEPS Action Plan. The Treasurer said Australia will begin exchanging information through the CRS commencing from 2017. He also noted that the G20 will continue to work with developing countries to ensure they benefit from its tax agenda.
The Communiqué from the meeting said the G20 committed to finalising all 15 Action Items from the BEPS project in 2015. The G20 also called on the OECD, IMF, UN, World Bank Group and regional tax administration forums to develop toolkits to assist developing countries implement BEPS action items.
Source: Treasurer’s closing statement at the Cairns G20 meeting, 21 September 2014
[LTN 183, 22/9/14]