Wednesday 27 January 2016 7:39 pm

UK and Ireland among 31 countries signed up to OECD tax co-operation agreement

By: Caitlin Morrison

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The OECD has announced that 31 countries have signed up to a new tax co-operation agreement to enable automatic sharing of country-by-country information.

Representatives from the 31 countries, which include the UK, Ireland and Australia, signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) at a ceremony today.

“Country-by-country Reporting will have an immediate impact in boosting international co-operation on tax issues, by enhancing the transparency of multinational enterprises’ operations,” said OECD secretary-general Angel Gurría.

“Under this multilateral agreement, information will be exchanged between tax administrations, giving them a single, global picture on the key indicators of multinational businesses."

Gurria said the MCAA was a "much-needed tool towards the goal of ensuring that companies pay their fair share of tax", and added that it would not have been possible without the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project.

The new agreement comes in the wake of public anger over the tax arrangements of big companies. 

Google recently agreed to pay £130m to HMRC to settle claims dating over the last 10 years – a move that has been criticised as being too lax on the internet giant.

COUNTRIES SIGNED UP TO THE MCAA