OECD Pledges To Monitor Implementation Of Transfer Pricing Guidelines

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

18 January 2005

Speaking in Washington on Thursday, director of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, Jeffrey Owens revealed that transfer pricing, amendments to the model tax convention, and consumption taxes will all be high on the Organisation's agenda in 2005.

Stressing the need to "maintain the relevance" of the ten year old OECD transfer pricing guidelines, Mr Owens announced plans to extend them to cover new business models, monitor their application, and ensure that consistency of application is achieved with regard to transfer pricing transactions in non-OECD countries.

"Frankly, there is much more we can do to get consistent application of the guidelines," he was quoted by the media as observing last week.

He went on to add that consumption tax matters would also receive additional scrutiny in the coming year because the international business community has been arguing recently that "cross-border VAT issues are equally as important as - if not more important than - cross-border income tax issues".

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