HMRC has published a proposed revised list of UK reservations and notifications to be included in the multilateral instrument (MLI) which will implement tax treaty related measures to prevent base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS)
The UK signed the multilateral instrument, which forms part of the OECD’s project of work to combat BEPS, in Paris on 7 June 2017.
The UK’s final list of reservations and notifications under the multilateral instrument will be that submitted to the OECD (as the depository of the multilateral instrument) on deposit of the UK’s instrument of ratification following completion of legislative procedures to give effect to the draft Double Taxation (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) Order 2018.
The multilateral instrument is not yet in force in the UK. The multilateral instrument will be applicable in the UK on the first day of the month following the expiration of a period of three calendar months beginning on the date of the deposit by the UK of its instrument of ratification, acceptance or approval.
The latest list is an update to the provisional list supplied at the time the multilateral instrument was signed. It gives details of some 120 agreements signed between the UK and jurisdictions worldwide, along with agreed exemptions for specific issues including dual resident entities. It also highlights where existing covered tax agreements contain preamble language which meets the requirements of the BEPS project.
These revisions are intended to amend errors in the original notifications; list agreements that were omitted in error; list agreements that have been signed since signature of the multilateral instrument; and remove from the list agreements where it has been agreed with the UK’s treaty partners to make the modifications provided by the multilateral instrument through a bilateral arrangement.
Report by Pat Sweet
