China takes important step to boost international co-operation against tax evasion

16/12/2015 – Today the People’s Republic of China became the 77th jurisdiction to sign the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA), which allows it to move forward with plans to activate automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters and commence exchanges with other countries in 2018. The G20 Leaders have repeatedly stressed their commitment to automatic exchange of information, most recently at their November meeting in Antalya, Turkey.

The Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement is a framework agreement based on the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. Bilateral information exchanges will come into effect between signatories after subsequent notifications are filed, as required under the Agreement. The Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters was endorsed by G20 Leaders at the Leaders’ Summit on 15-16 November 2014 in Brisbane, Australia. It provides for automatic exchange of all financial information on an annual basis.

Also, the OECD and the State Administration of Taxation of the People’s Republic of China (SAT) have today renewed their agreement, first signed in 2013, for a further three years until 31 December 2018. This MoU builds on co-operation between the SAT and the OECD which has proved an important platform for enhancing co-operation including the Associate status of China on the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project, and through a programme of events and legislative consultations, and the secondment of tax officials.

In parallel with the MoU for overall co-operation, the SAT and the OECD have also signed an MoU to implement a Multilateral Tax Programme at the OECD-SAT Multilateral Tax Centre in Yangzhou. The SAT has worked with the OECD’s Global Relations Programme since 1997, serving as a focal point for policy dialogue among Chinese and OECD country officials on international tax, tax policy, and tax administration issues. The new Multilateral Tax Centre will deliver an programme open to interested country officials reflecting the OECD’s current initiatives for the benefit of all participating countries.