BEPS and the future for cross-border dispute resolution

Implementation of the OECD’s BEPS recommendations will result in an increase in disputes in relation to international tax. Current procedures are cumbersome and do not always result in the dispute being resolved. G20 and OECD countries will agree minimum standards for dispute resolution which will include more widespread adoption and use of an improved OECD mutual agreement procedure (MAP). Twenty countries have gone further and agreed to submit to binding arbitration where a dispute cannot be resolved by agreement. The proposals are a step in the right direction but do not go far enough. Much can be learned from the use of arbitration in Bilateral Investment Treaties.