OECD releases technical guidance for implementation of the global minimum tax
February 2, 2023
The OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS released today technical guidance to assist governments with implementation of the landmark reform to the international tax system, which will ensure multinational enterprises (MNEs) will be subject to a 15% effective minimum tax rate.
The Agreed Administrative Guidance for the Pillar Two GloBE Rules will ensure co-ordinated outcomes and greater certainty for businesses as they move to apply the global minimum corporate tax rules from the beginning of 2024. Together with the December 2022 publication of the Safe Harbours and Penalty Relief document and public consultations on the GloBE Information Return and Tax Certainty, today's release finalises the Implementation Framework as set out in the October 2021 Statement on the Two-Pillar Solution to Address the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy.
The document issued today includes guidance on the recognition of the United States' minimum tax (known as the Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income or "GILTI") under the GloBE Rules and on the design of Qualified Domestic Minimum Top-up Taxes. It also includes more general guidance on the scope, operation and transitional elements of the GloBE Rules to allow Inclusive Framework members that are in the process of implementing the rules to reflect this guidance in their domestic legislation in a co-ordinated manner. The guidance responds to stakeholder feedback on technical issues, such as the collection of top up tax in a jurisdiction in a period where the jurisdiction has no GloBE income, and the treatment of debt releases and certain tax credit equity structures.
"The release of today's guidance represents the final but significant piece of work on the GloBE Rules that the Inclusive Framework members had committed to deliver as part of the implementation framework," said Grace Perez-Navarro, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. "While this brings an end to the work we had set for ourselves in October 2021, we will continue, over the coming months, to work hard to ensure that the rules are implemented in a co-ordinated and administrable manner. This will include listening to stakeholders on how the operation of the rules can be further refined to reduce compliance costs and achieve better tax certainty for business and how we can optimise the information to be reported in the GloBE Information Return, while also developing a robust and transparent peer review process and expanding our capacity building efforts."
The Agreed Administrative Guidance will be incorporated into a revised version of the Commentary that will be released later this year and replace the original version of the Commentary issued in March 2022. The Inclusive Framework will continue to release further Agreed Administrative Guidance on an ongoing basis, to ensure that the GloBE Rules continue to be implemented and applied in a co-ordinated manner.
Going forward, the Inclusive Framework expects to finalise the model provision for the Subject to Tax Rule and the related multilateral instrument to assist in its implementation. Under Pillar One, technical work is still ongoing with the aim to finalise a new Multilateral Convention by mid-2023, for entry into force in 2024.
For more information on the Model GloBE Rules, visit https://oe.cd/pillar-two-model-rules.
[OECD]
