EXCLUSIVE: OECD’s Saint-Amans discusses EC push to force MNEs to publish CbCR data on their websites

International Tax Review is part of Legal Benchmarking Limited, 1-2 Paris Garden, London, SE1 8ND

Copyright © Legal Benchmarking Limited and its affiliated companies 2026

Accessibility | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Modern Slavery Statement

EXCLUSIVE: OECD’s Saint-Amans discusses EC push to force MNEs to publish CbCR data on their websites

Pascal St-Amans

The European Commission’s crackdown on EU and foreign multinationals includes a plan to force MNEs operating in Europe to publish detailed country-by-country tax reports on their company websites – including financial data from offshore subsidiaries.

pascal-photo-jpega.jpg

The latest proposal, outlined on Tuesday after a week of pressure following the release of the Panama Papers, puts European Commissioners at loggerheads with the OECD, which does not advocate public disclosure of CbCR.

Pascal Saint-Amans, OECD director of tax policy and administration, spoke exclusively TP Week in an interview on Tuesday:

  •  “The agreement reached by the OECD along with the 44 other countries is that the reporting should go from one tax administration to another tax administration. The EU wants to go further and what we noticed is that the publicity in the reports will be limited to the transactions that occur within the EU and not beyond because all the other transactions will be grouped into one line which will be interesting, I’m not sure how much usefulness they will have from that. I don’t know how useful this will be but it will depend on how the EU plans to propose it.”

  • “It’s not the largely public CbCR for everybody and it’s limited to the EU, it goes beyond the agreement from the OECD, but in a sense that is not too contradictory of what was agreed at the OECD.”

  • “To the extent that it is limited to transaction occurring within the EU I’m not sure it’s that big of a deal. Not too concerned is maybe the right assessment.”

  • On whether this is unilateral action away from BEPS: “I’m pretty sure some countries like the US will think so."

more across site & shared bottom lb ros

More from across our site

With a stark divergence between MNEs that prepared early and those rushing to catch up, advisers must remain agile with all manner of compliance risks
The EU agreed new cooperative and investigative measures to tackle VAT fraud, while Hungary faced legal action and Lavez Coutinho expanded its indirect tax team
The arrival of a team from Brazilian rival Costa Tavares Paes Advogados brings SiqueiraCastro’s tax headcount to seven partners and 30 associates
CSR initiatives can sometimes venture into virtue signalling, but Ryan’s tax literacy event for schoolchildren was a genuine and necessary endeavour
Grant Thornton advanced plans to integrate its Australian firm into its US arm, as tax developments spanned law firm hires, aviation levies and digital services taxes
A new focus on early intervention and increased AI use is transforming how tax authorities are approaching TP audits, though capacity-constrained jurisdictions risk falling behind
The French administration has used AI to detect undeclared swimming pools and verandas but always includes a human in the loop, the AI in Tax Forum heard
The UK tax authority’s deputy director of large business also reassured taxpayers that HMRC will not ‘nitpick’ returns
Sucafina’s tax chief was speaking at the ITR Pillar 2 Forum in London alongside experts from HMRC and other organisations
India’s Supreme Court rattled cross‑border structuring with its Tiger Global ruling. Subsequent rule changes narrowed the impact, but significant risks around GAAR, substance and treaty access persist
Gift this article