Recognising the need to offer observations on some of the key BEPs Action Plans, some of which contain features which are potentially harmful to the Irish economy, Chartered Accountants Ireland, under the auspices of CCAB-I, made representations to the OECD in respect of Actions 6, 7 and 10 of the BEPS Action Plan.

These representations are as follows:

Action 6 concerns the prevention of the granting of treaty benefits in “inappropriate circumstances”.

Our submission points out that many of the BEPS proposals to limit treaty benefits would be contrary to the interests of smaller countries. They would also give Revenue Authorities additional discretion to refuse benefits, which would be both resource intensive for the Revenue Authorities concerned and would increase uncertainty and administrative burdens for business.

Action 7 has to do with Permanent Establishment – the circumstances in which a company is brought into the charge to tax outside its home country.

In this short submission we make two points – that some of the PE proposals would be contrary to EU treaty principles, and also that if PE is redefined, the definitions should at least be as clear as the ones currently in place.

Action 10 concerns transfer pricing guidelines relating to low value adding services.

Our key point here for this specialised area is that the proposed simplification is made available as broadly as possible.

The BEPS submissions are published in this issue of tax.point from here.

The submission in respect of;

Action 6: Preventing Treaty Abuse,

Action 7: Prevent artificial avoidance of PE status, and,

Action 14: Make dispute resolution mechanisms more effective,

of the BEPS Action Plan were subsequently published on the OECD website. Included in these publications are the submissions made by Chartered Accountants Ireland.