The multilateral convention to implement tax treaty related measures to prevent BEPS

The Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting is the final output of action 15 of the OECD’s BEPS project and is the result of 18 months’ work by an ad hoc group of 99 countries chaired by Mike Williams of the UK. It is intended to enable the implementation of treaty related recommendations of four BEPS action items across multiple tax treaties without separate renegotiation. The substantive provisions of the Convention are divided into four main parts concerning: hybrid mismatches; treaty abuse; avoidance of PE status; and dispute resolution. Provision is made for mandatory binding arbitration, but only on an ‘opt-in’ basis, as broad international consensus on the use of arbitration could not be reached.