Qatar signs BEPS Multilateral Instrument to tackle tax avoidance

Qatar is the 85th jurisdiction to sign the BEPS Convention, which now covers nearly 1,500 bilateral tax treaties.

Qatar has signed the OECD’s Multilateral Instrument to implement the tax treaty-related measures to tackle base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), the OECD announced on December 4.

Negotiated by over 100 tax jurisdictions, the BEPS Convention updates the existing network of bilateral tax treaties and reduces opportunities for tax avoidance by multinational enterprises (MNEs).

Qatar is the 85th jurisdiction to sign the BEPS Convention, which now covers nearly 1,500 bilateral tax treaties.

The BEPS Convention seeks to modify existing bilateral tax treaties to swiftly implement measures relating to hybrid mismatch arrangements, treaty abuse, and permanent establishment. The BEPS Convention also strengthens provisions to resolve treaty disputes, including through mandatory binding arbitration, which has been taken up by over 25 countries.

The BEPS Convention will become effective on January 1, 2019, for the first 47 tax treaties concluded among the 15 tax jurisdictions that have already deposited their ratification instrument to the OECD. These 15 jurisdictions are: Australia, Austria, France, Isle of Man, Israel, Japan, Jersey, Lithuania, New Zealand, Poland, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Sweden, and the UK.