OECD Tax Treaty Virtual Seminar Held in China

Released on：2020-10-22

The OECD Tax Treaty Virtual Seminar was held in China on October 12-14 amid COVID-19 pandemic. The event was co-organized by OECD and State Taxation Administration (STA) and hosted by OECD-STA Multilateral Tax Centre in China (MTC China).

The three-day seminar opened with a welcome speech by directors of STA. OECD experts Néstor Venegas and Edward Barret then talked on a wide range of topics including the scope of tax treaties and entitlement to treaty benefits; preventing treaty abuse; the permanent establishment definition; and treaty provisions on immovable property, capital gains, royalties, services and interest. The seminar also provided a brief update on the BEPS Multilateral Instrument (the MLI) and its use to implement the BEPS treaty-related changes.

The virtual seminar was joined by over 200 tax officials from China and the rest of the world, reflecting the relevance of this topic in the post-BEPS era. The event concluded with participants taking home what they learned, which would be shared with their colleagues and used in their practical work.