Taxation
ICC Policy Paper on Co-Operative Compliance
ICC, as the world business organization, representing more than 45 million companies in over 100 countries, works to promote the market economy system, responsible business conduct and a global approach to regulation. In the area of taxation, ICC seeks to promote transparent and non-discriminatory treatment of foreign investments and earnings that eliminate tax obstacles to cross-border trade and investment.
Legal certainty is a foundational factor in attracting investment and relies, to a large degree, on strengthening the consistency of the international tax system. ICC supports measures aimed at increasing tax certainty in creating a more favourable environment for trade and investment. In the absence of a simplification of tax rules, tax certainty can be achieved through the increasing use of mechanisms such as cooperative compliance programmes.
Co-operative compliance refers to a concept that builds on a reciprocal relationship of trust and co-operation between businesses and tax authorities. Concerted efforts to promote and apply co-operative compliance would go a long way in fostering trust and creating confidence in the tax system, improving tax administrative efficiency as well as enhancing certainty for business, which is an important driver for trade and investment.
The ICC Policy Statement on Co-operative Compliance is intended to raise the profile of co-operative compliance and highlight the key elements of a co-operative compliance model as developed by the OECD. The aim is to encourage broader application of this concept to improve tax administrative efficiency and enhance certainty for business, which is an essential driver for trade and investment.
The ICC Policy Statement provides an overview of co-operative compliance programmes, including policy design, operational features and evaluations of existing programmes. Annex I includes examples of current advances towards co-operative compliance, and Annex II provides an overview of the OECD multijurisdictional International Compliance Assurance Programme.
