Tax rules to target digital economy

An international economic group seeking to ensure that multinational companies pay their taxes says it will publish a proposal focused on the digital economy in the next two months.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, supported by 34 member countries including the US, UK, Germany and Japan, aims to address issues raised by digital businesses in a world that taxes activities based on their physical locations.

“We’d better have strong and robust rules which do not give ground” and allow companies to avoid paying taxes anywhere, Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the Paris-based organisation’s tax policy and administration centre, said during a webcast yesterday.