PANAMA and high-level officials from Barbados, Côte d’Ivoire, Jamaica, Malaysia, and Tunisia have signed an OECD  Multilateral Convention to reduce opportunities for tax avoidance by multinational enterprises.

The Convention is the first multilateral treaty of its kind, allowing jurisdictions to integrate results from the OECD/G20 BEPS Project into their existing networks of bilateral tax treaties. “Today’s signing of the multilateral convention is another major step towards updating the international tax rules through the swift implementation of the BEPS package,” said OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría. “Beyond saving signatories from the burden of re-negotiating thousands of  tax treaties bilaterally, the convention results in more certainty and predictability for businesses, and a better functioning international tax system for the benefit of our citizens.”