Plans to increase the level of tax that multinationals like Amazon, Starbucks and Google pay in the country where a sale is made are to be addressed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The Paris-based think-tank is to address current tax law, which allows big business to artificially shift profit from one jurisdiction to one where corporate taxes are significantly lower.

Draft proposals are due to be distributed among the 34 member states in January, with the intention of discussing the measures at the February G20 meeting in Moscow.

'We have huge pressure from states to move quickly - the current rules are no longer adapted and countries need resources,' Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD, said, adding: 'We hope to see a change, not just proposals for a change, in the next 12 to 18 months.'

Growing public resentment in several countries - including the UK, France and Australia - concerning the entirely legal, but aggressive tax planning of global businesses has caused national governments to take a more holistic approach, with the realisation that cross-border cooperation is required.

Among other functions it performs, the OECD develops and produces international tax guidelines.