Washington, D.C., May 15, 2014 – As governments from OECD/G20 economies work to rewrite many of the fundamental rules of global corporate taxation, an upcoming conference will provide timely, essential insight for American companies into the process. On June 2-3 in Washington, D.C., the United States Council for International Business (USCIB) will hold its ninth annual global tax conference, in cooperation with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Business and Industry Advisory Committee (BIAC) to the OECD.

A year after G20 leaders endorsed a 15-point action plan put forward by the OECD to draw up new global tax rules to counter “base erosion and profit shifting,” or BEPS, the first group of projects is heading towards completion. This includes work on intangibles, country-by-country reporting, tax treaty abuse, hybrids and the digital economy. The conference will provide an opportunity to assess progress to date and look forward to the work that will occupy the OECD over the next year.

“BEPS is an enormous undertaking, with far-reaching implications for how companies do business and how countries collect tax across borders,” said Carol Doran Klein, USCIB’s vice president and international tax counsel. “It is crucial that governments, OECD officials and the private sector work together to develop rules that meet government revenue goals, but also provide business with the certainty needed to make cross-border investments confidently.”

The 2014 OECD International Tax Conference, which will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel, will provide a unique opportunity for business experts to interact directly with key leadership from the OECD’s Center for Tax Policy and Administration, as well as senior tax officials from the United States and other OECD countries.

Speakers at this year’s conference include:

• Keynote speaker IRS Commissioner John Koskinen
• Masatsugu Asakawa of the Japanese finance ministry, who chairs the OECD Committee on Fiscal Affairs
• Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD Center for Tax Policy and Administration
• Tizhong Liao, China’s director general of international taxation
• Robert Stack, deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs, U.S. Treasury
• Will Morris, director of global tax policy with GE International and chair of the BIAC Committee on Taxation and Fiscal Affairs

They will be joined by other OECD experts on transfer pricing, international tax cooperation and related matters, tax officials from the U.S. and other OECD governments, and business experts from USCIB and BIAC’s global membership.

“Given the complexity of the issues, their significant potential impact on the taxation of international business, and the rapid progress the OECD is making on BEPS and related matters, it is essential that U.S. and other global companies gain a full understanding of the issues now and make their views known,” said Bill Sample, corporate vice president for worldwide taxes with Microsoft and chair of USCIB’s Taxation Committee.

“The business community is providing important input to the BEPS process,” added GE’s Morris. “This conference will provide an opportunity for further dialogue between the public and the private sectors on important matters affecting public confidence, revenue generation and economic growth.”

USCIB President and CEO Peter Robinson said: “The OECD is a valuable forum for informed discussion and guidance on many facets of government policy and regulation, especially in taxation. We are delighted to continue our long tradition of working with the OECD and BIAC to showcase the OECD’s important work on global tax policies.”

Robinson noted that, this year, USCIB had also partnered with the OECD on a March 10 conference in Washington on information and communications technologies, and would organize a joint conference this October on new directions in trade and investment policy.

The 2014 OECD International Tax Conference is co-organized by USCIB, the OECD and BIAC, which officially represents the view of industry in the Paris-based body, and for which USCIB serves as the U.S. member federation. Details are available at www.uscibtax.org.

About USCIB:

USCIB promotes open markets, competitiveness and innovation, sustainable development and corporate responsibility, supported by international engagement and regulatory coherence. Its members include U.S.-based global companies and professional services firms from every sector of our economy, with operations in every region of the world. With a unique global network encompassing leading international business organizations, including BIAC, USCIB provides business views to policy makers and regulatory authorities worldwide, and works to facilitate international trade and investment. More information is available at www.uscib.org.

Contact:

Jonathan Huneke, VP communications, USCIB

+1 212.703.5043 or jhuneke@uscib.org

Conference agenda and other information

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