International and Foreign Tax Law Research Guide

Table of Contents

• Selected Multilateral Tax Treaties
• Tools for Monitoring the Adoption of MLI Provisions
   

Selected Multilateral Treaties

There are relatively few multilateral tax treaties compared to the much larger number of bilateral tax treaties.  The most important of multilateral tax treaties are described below.

• Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (1988)
  This treaty is the most comprehensive multilateral instrument facilitating inter-state co-operation to combat tax evasion and avoidance.  It was drafted as a joint initiative of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Council of Europe. 
  • Citation:  E.T.S. 127
  • Explanatory Report (covers both the 1988 convention and the 2010 protocol)
  • Signatories & Ratifications (covers both the 1988 convention and the 2010 protocol)
  • Full Text in English, as amended by the 2010 protocol (See below.)
     
• Protocol Amending the Convention on Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters (2010)
  This protocol to the 1988 convention provides for the exchange of information, multilateral simultaneous tax examinations, the service of documents, and cross-border assistance in tax collection, among other matters.
  • Citation:  C.E.T.S. 208
  • Explanatory Report (covers both the 1988 convention and the 2010 protocol)
  • Signatories & Ratifications (covers both the 1988 convention and the 2010 protocol)
  • Full Text in English
     
• Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS (2017)
  This treaty, usually referred to as the Multilateral Instrument (MLI), was drafted by the OECD to facilitate the implementation of the recommendations made by the OECD's BEPS Project to combat base erosion and profit-shifting by modifying the application of existing bilateral tax treaties.  It also includes provisions to combat treaty abuse and improve dispute resolution mechanisms.  
  • Brief Explanatory Brochure
  • Detailed Explanatory Statement
  • Current List of Signatories (The treaty remains open to signature.)
  • Full Text in English
  • Entry Into Force:  Pursuant to Article 34 of the MLI, the treaty entered into force on July 1, 2018, three months after Slovenia, the fifth signatory, ratified the treaty.
     

Tools for Monitoring the Adoption of MLI Provisions

Bloomberg Tax International's Treaties Modified by BEPS MLI table provides a regularly updated list of jurisdictions that have ratified the OECD's Multilateral Instrument.  Use IBFD's MLI Country Monitor to determine if a jurisdiction that has ratified the MLI  has adopted (or opted out of) the provisions set forth in a particular article of the treaty and whether it did so subject to any reservations.  To check the MLI status of bilateral tax treaties, use TaxNotes.com's MLI Covered Instruments Tracker.  Each of these tools is described in greater detail below. 

• Treaties Modified by BEPS MLI
  This table lists all jurisdictions that have ratified the MIL and deposited it with the OECD.  It is regularly updated.
   
• MLI Country Monitor on the IBFD Tax Research Platform
   
  • To access the tool, select Tables as the content type in the center of the homepage.  After the page refreshes, select the desired jurisdiction using the menu on the left.  After the page refreshes again, scroll through the list in the center of the page to find the MLI Country Monitor for the jurisdiction in question.  Click on the link to open
     
  • To generate a table comparing two or more jurisdictions have implemented the MLI, repeat the process described above for at least one other jurisdiction.  Then open the Documents menu near the top of the page and check the box next to each MLI Country Monitor table you would like to compare.  Then click on the icon in the shape of two sheets of paper to generate the comparison table.
     
• MLI Documentation Tracker (TaxNotes.com)
  This tool allows you to allows you to determine if a jurisdiction has ratified the MLI subject to any reservations and how the jurisdiction has modified its bilateral tax treaties to comply with the MLI.  Begin by using the Jurisdiction filter to select the desired jurisdiction(s).  Then use the Document Type menu to select the desired documentation (MLI Reservations & Notifications; MLI Synthesized Texts; or Other MLI Documentation).
  
  Note:  Current GULC faculty and students must log in to their individual TaxNotes.com accounts to access this tool.  Ask a librarian if you need assistance in registering for an account.