Will Morris has made it into nearly every edition of the
Global Tax 50 and this year is no exception. Five years' worth
of achievements and influence, and it's fair to say that Morris
has continued to have an impact on tax at the international
level.
Morris is a key business figure in the tax community. His
involvement in the OECD's BEPS Project has maintained the
business community's voice in the discussions. Morris
encourages businesses to stay active at the international
organisational level and to have their voice heard by engaging
in the OECD's business
survey. The survey gathers information on the effects of
direct and indirect tax systems on business behaviour. "This is
the best chance and probably the biggest chance in the next
period of time that business has to have a positive input in
this growth agenda, which is just crucial," Morris told
International Tax Review. "The OECD is appropriately
anxious to broaden the debate out from just being about BEPS
and anti-avoidance to encompass the issue of inclusive economic
growth. They are interested in those things that block
cross-border trade and investment, as well as those things
which encourage them." Morris said that the signing of the
business survey with Pascal Saint-Amans, OECD director of the
Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, at the G20 Tax Policy
Symposium in July 2016 in China was his proudest moment of
2016. Increasing tax certainty to promote investment and trade
in a world where value creation is changing has remained a
significant part of his work.
Reflecting on the progress of the BEPS Project, Morris said
that businesses can keep their momentum by being constructively
involved in the discussions and by putting pressure on their
own governments to "make it work". Although there are a number
of concerns swirling around from individual industries, Morris
said that remaining positive on the development of these
policies is important to achieve progress. He points businesses
towards the Business and Industry Advisory Committee's BEPS app
to stay on top of implementation and application in an
organised way. The purpose of the app is therefore to enable
users to quickly, easily, and securely submit their experiences
or any interesting BEPS news that they become aware of to a
central BIAC database.
"On the surface, this year has been a quieter year, but
there's been a huge amount of work going on behind the
curtains," Morris said. He highlighted the conclusion of the
Multilateral Instrument, which will swiftly implement a series
of tax treaty measures to update international tax treaty rules
and lessen the opportunity for tax avoidance by MNEs, as being
a major project below the surface throughout 2016.
However, Morris said that there has been a "considerable
element of fatigue that has set in the business community",
much in the same way that there has been at the OECD and at
government worldwide. "Nevertheless, I think we have managed to
keep it going," he said.
For 2017, Morris said he will be "continuing to try to
improve the perception of business, while at the same time
ensuring that we do all that we can to promote growth and to
keep people's faith in trading and investing
cross-borders".
"There's a tendency right at the moment to look inwards and
while that's totally understandable that's not going to help us
in the end," he added. Trying to keep businesses involved,
maintaining positivity and being constructive will be a part of
Morris's work in the year ahead.
He will remain an influential individual to watch in the tax
world.