Hatch to Hold Finance Hearing on OECD BEPS Reports

WASHINGTON – Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) will convene a hearing on Tuesday, December 1, to examine the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation & Development’s (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) reports, and the European Union’s (EU) State Aid investigations regarding member-countries’ tax rulings.  The hearing, titled “International Tax: OECD BEPS & EU State Aid,” will take place at 2:45 p.m. in Room 215 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building.

“In today’s global economy, many nations, including the United States, are facing tax base erosion as multinational companies shift profits, activities and property from high-tax to low-tax jurisdictions.  With the OECD’s BEPS project, the Obama Administration and the international community have sought to find solutions to address taxation challenges in an increasingly globalized and digital economy.  And while such efforts are laudable, the recommendations contained in the OECD’s BEPS reports raise a number of serious concerns about taxpayer confidentiality and the Treasury Department’s statutory authority to implement regulations as envisioned by the project,” Hatch said.  “At the same time, the EU has launched investigations into American multinationals that have resulted in increased uncertainty and foreign tax liabilities for our businesses abroad. Given these concerns and developments, I expect a robust discussion at this hearing on what the OECD BEPS project means for U.S. taxpayers and our tax system moving forward, as well as how the EU State Aid investigations could potentially affect tax revenues paid to the U.S. Treasury.”

In October, the OECD released its final 15-part report containing international tax reform recommendations.  The following month, leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies, including President Obama, endorsed implementation of the BEPS project. 

Hatch has long questioned the OECD BEPS project and called on the Treasury to engage with Congress on the initiative. Hatch most recently questioned Treasury’s planned country-by-country reporting regulations and asked the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office (GAO) to undertake an in-depth analysis of the multiple provisions and actions under contemplation in the OECD’s BEPS project.

The witnesses for Tuesday’s hearing are:

• Ms. Dorothy B. Coleman, Vice President, Tax and Domestic Economic Policy, National Association of Manufacturers, Washington, DC
• Mr. Robert B. Stack, Deputy Assistant Secretary for International Tax Affairs, U.S. Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 

For media inquiries and additional information, including webcast and testimony details, please visit: http://finance.senate.gov/hearings.

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