Co-operative Compliance and the OECD’s International Compliance Assurance Programme

EUCOTAX Series on European Taxation, Volume Number 68.

Co-operative Compliance and the OECD’s International Compliance Assurance Programme is the first publication to analyse Co-operative Compliance and the International Compliance Assurance Programme (ICAP) in twelve different jurisdictions. Prominent among initiatives addressing the urgent need for a common understanding between multinational enterprises (MNEs) and national tax authorities about risks and risk assessment is the ICAP, which provides a channel for MNEs to engage in simultaneous discussions with multiple national tax administrations, thus enhancing the potential for advance tax assurance. To a certain extent, the ICAP represents the internationalization of Co-operative Compliance frameworks which were, until then, restricted within the borders of single jurisdiction.

What’s in this book:

Following a general introduction, the book presents two opening perspectives on the ICAP, one from the OECD and the other from a participating tax administration (the Netherlands), leading to the twelve country reports and a special chapter on transfer pricing, which is the main issue in international tax disputes. Specific elements reviewed include the following:

• criteria to enter the programme;
• range of taxes covered by the programme;
• real-time consultation procedures;
• appeal procedures within the programme;
• the possibility to ‘agree to disagree’ and to continue Co-operative Compliance even in cases of litigation;
• risk-management strategies within tax authorities;
• corporate administrative compliance burden; and
• main sources of tax uncertainty.

Each report addresses the same questions so that all the reports cover, to some extent, the same features of their domestic relationship approaches and their ICAP experiences. A final chapter puts forward the reviews on the contributions and offers some concluding remarks.

How this will help you:

Although the ICAP process probably will undergo further adjustments, it is certain that the road to more international cooperation between tax authorities and MNEs is now open. This timely book, as a comparative review of the implementation of the ICAP among leading jurisdictions active in global trade, provides matchless insights into trends, similarities, differences and their implications. With country reports contributed by tax academics and professionals experienced in dealing with Co-operative Compliance and the ICAP, this book will be welcomed by all stakeholders in the international tax community, including lawyers, taxation authorities and academics.