The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project came about because of a growing concern that tax planning strategies which exploited gaps and mismatches in tax rules caused an artificial shift of profits to locations where there is little or no economic activity and resulted in base erosion and double non-taxation of certain corporate income.

At the request of G20 Finance Ministers, the OECD’s Action Plan on BEPS was published in July 2013, with a view to addressing flaws in international tax rules. The Action Plan contains 15 actions scheduled to be finalised in three phases: September 2014, September 2015 and December 2015.

BEPS Alert is a newsletter covering the developments and progress following the 2014 OECD International Tax Conference, where updates on the BEPS Project and Common Reporting Standards were delivered. Each issue provides insights on anticipated changes in domestic tax legislation and global treaties being developed by the OECD.