Action 15 of the BEPS Action Plan provides for an analysis of the tax and
public international law issues related to the development of a multilateral
instrument to enable countries that wish to do so to implement measures
developed in the course of the work on BEPS and amend bilateral tax treaties.
On the basis of this analysis, interested countries will develop a multilateral
instrument designed to provide an innovative approach to international
tax matters, reflecting the rapidly evolving nature of the global economy
and the need to adapt quickly to this evolution. The goal of Action 15 is
to streamline the implementation of the tax treaty-related BEPS measures.
This is an innovative approach with no exact precedent in the tax world, but
precedents for modifying bilateral treaties with a multilateral instrument exist
in various other areas of public international law. Drawing on the expertise
of public international law and tax experts, the present report explores the
technical feasibility of a multilateral hard law approach and its consequences
on the current tax treaty system. The report identifies the issues arising
from the development of such an instrument and provides an analysis of the
international tax, public international law, and political issues that arise from
such an approach. It concludes that a multilateral instrument is desirable and
feasible, and that negotiations for such an instrument should be convened
quickly.