Certain Multinational Enterprises exploit gaps and mismatches in the tax rules of different countries to avoid paying tax. These tax planning strategies are known as base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS).

BEPS strategies can disproportionally effect developing countries, and the risks are increasing because of the digitalisation of the global economy. These issues are being addressed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), who propose to rework the current framework for international taxation – this new framework is commonly referred to as BEPS 2.0.

The BEPS 2.0 package consists of two key pillars:

- Pillar One is focused on profit allocation and nexus
- Pillar Two is focused on a global minimum tax

The aim of these two pillars is to ensure that Multinational Enterprises (who, thanks to digitalisation, can access global markets with relative ease) pay a fair amount of tax in ‘the right place’. The pillars also set a global minimum tax rate.

Over 130 OECD member jurisdictions have agreed to the ‘two-pillar’ solution and an implementation plan. BEPS 2.0 will be effective from 2023, with some Pillar 2 aspects coming into effect from 2024.

In this video, our international tax experts tell you everything you need to know about Pillar 2.