AT the first OECD Global Forum on Transfer Pricing, the delegates from 90 countries agreed on the need to simplify transfer pricing rules, strengthen the guidelines on intangible issues and improve the efficiency of dispute resolution.

In his opening remarks, Secretary General Angel Gurría emphasised that “the time has come to simplify the rules and alleviate the compliance burden for both tax authorities and taxpayers. Because complicated rules can be a barrier to cross-border trade and investment and place a heavy burden on tax administrations and businesses, we are making our approach simpler without making it arbitrary.''

Delegates agreed that during the coming year the Global Forum will carry out a transfer pricing risk assessment, developing a detailed “how-to” manual which will establish good practices for governments when they assess transfer pricing risk at the beginning of an audit.