The Tax Times: 22 OECD Jurisdictions To Share Gig Economy Tax Data

Monday, November 14, 2022

22 OECD Jurisdictions To Share Gig Economy Tax Data

According to Law360, Officials from 22 jurisdictions have agreed to exchange information collected by digital platform operators through a global framework that would help countries tax income earned through the app-based gig economy, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said on November 10, 2022.

The government officials signed a multilateral competent authority agreement, or MCAA, that will allow jurisdictions to automatically exchange information annually regarding income earned through the gig economy, such as earnings from items sold through digital platforms, according to the Paris-based OECD. The jurisdictions signed the MCAA on Wednesday in Seville, Spain, during an annual meeting held by the OECD's Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes.

The Signing Marks The Latest Steps In Policymakers'

Efforts To Broaden Transparency In The Gig Economy,

Where Multinational Platforms, As Well As The
Independent Workers Who Earn A Living On Them,
Have Proven Vexing For Governments To Track And Tax.

After beginning a gig economy project in 2019, the OECD in July 2020 issued model rules that would require online platforms such as Uber and Airbnb to report the tax information of sellers on their networks.

Recommended rules to help countries collect and exchange this information were released in July 2021 by the OECD, which followed up in late March with a user guide for tax administrations. The organization noted at the time that its model rules were developed in response to calls for a global reporting framework for income arising from activities carried out on digital platforms, including accommodation, transportation and sales.

"Activities Facilitated By Platforms May Not Always
Be Visible To Tax Authorities Or Self-Reported
By Taxpayers," The OECD Said.

"At the same time, the platform economy also permits increased access to information by tax administrations, as it brings activities previously carried out in the informal cash economy onto digital platforms."

The OECD noted Thursday that 15 jurisdictions also signed a separate MCAA that would allow them to share information collected from intermediaries that have identified arrangements designed to circumvent the organization's cross-border data exchange system for individual taxpayers' financial information. According to the OECD, the newly signed accord against CRS avoidance "will allow tax authorities to ensure compliance of both the taxpayers and the intermediaries involved in such arrangements and structures."

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