Already in 2013 the G20/OECD’s BEPS Project highlighted the concerns expressed around the world about tax planning by multinational enterprises that exploits gaps in the interaction of international tax laws to artificially reduce taxable income or shift profits to low-tax jurisdictions. This is particularly relevant for the digital economy, as its business models and the features of increasing digitisation are perceived as exacerbating the profit shifting exposure. It is therefore no surprise that the OECD recently emphasized the taxation of the digital economy as the most ‘urgent’ area for attention.
The OECD is currently working on bridging the gap between different countries’ perspectives and is aiming to issue a final report on this topic in 2019 or 2020 at the latest. Recently, EU governments have agreed that tax rules should be changed to increase levies on digital services that are currently undertaxed.
