Culmination of the project
In mid 2016, the Board of Trustees of Fundación Impuestos y Competitividad decided that a detailed analysis of the measures proposed by the BEPS Action Plan was called for.
From September 2016 through to May 2017, the Fundación posted on its web site the different papers produced as a result of such work, together with that relating to the European Union’s anti-abuse Directives, aimed at the uniform implementation of the BEPS measures across the Member States.
This process was completed and the conclusion was reached, given the importance of the subject, that it was worth updating and reviewing these papers and supplementing them with an introduction and an overview reflecting the authors’ evaluation of the project as a whole. This work has led to the Fundación’s most recent publication, a book entitled “El Plan de acción BEPS: una reflexión obligada” (Essential reflections on the BEPS action plan), which was presented to the public on 18 July.
A presentation which reflected the importance of the project
Given the significance of the BEPS project, which will have a great impact on the legislative agenda of the States in the area of taxation over the next few years, a high-profile presentation was called for. It was therefore held at the headquarters of the Instituto de Estudios Fiscales pertaining to the Ministry of Finance and the Civil Service, whose directors generously accepted the Fundación’s request and were actively involved in both the event itself and its organization.
The inauguration of the presentation was chaired by the Director of the Instituto, José Alberto Plaza Tejera, and the President of the Board of Trustees of the Fundación, Víctor Mendoza Díaz-Aguado, and involved the participation of María José Garde, subdirector of International Taxation at the Directorate General of Taxation and head of the OECD’s Global Tax Transparency Forum, who spoke on the most recent developments in the area of international taxation, commenting – among other issues – on the recent multi-lateral convention, a tool intended to speed up the implementation of the measures proposed by the Action Plan.
There were three round tables at which the authors of the work were joined by representatives of the Tax Administration with senior positions in the area of International Taxation and representatives of multinational business groups, two of which are based in Spain and the third based abroad. The aim was to reflect the views of the different social partners who are to play an important part in the practical application of the BEPS Action Plan. The participants in each of these round tables, and the aspects on which they each focused, were as follows:
- BEPS and legal certainty: Jorge Ferreras Gutiérrez (Subdirectorate General of International Taxation. Directorate General of Taxation) Luis López-Tello (REPSOL) Francisco Martín (DELOITTE) Rafael Fuster (Uría Menéndez) Moderator: Luis Viñuales (GARRIGUES)
- BEPS and cooperative relationship between taxpayers and the Administration: Felipe Rubio Cuadrado (National Office of International Taxation. AEAT) Ignacio de Felipe (FERROVIAL) Ramón Palacín (EY) Carolina del Campo (KPMG) Moderator: Cristina García-Herrera Blanco (Director of Studies. Instituto de Estudios Fiscales)
- BEPS and litigation: Néstor Carmona Fernández (National Office of International Taxation. AEAT) María Teresa Ruiz de Azua (PROCTER & GAMBLE) Isabel Otaola (BAKER McKENZIE) Andrés Sánchez (CUATRECASAS) Moderator: Javier González Carcedo (PWC TAX & LEGAL)