On 22 August 2016, the OECD published, for discussion, recommendations for domestic laws that would neutralise the effect of payments involving certain branch mismatch arrangements.
This expansion of the final Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action 2 paper, Neutralising the Effects of Hybrid Mismatch Arrangements, issued on 5 October 2015, adds even more complexity to that very long and complicated hybrid mismatch guidance.
The new Discussion Draft applies the analysis and recommendations set out in the Action 2 Report to mismatches that can arise when using of branch structures. It identifies five basic types of branch mismatch arrangements and sets out preliminary recommendations for domestic rules that would neutralise the resulting mismatch in tax outcomes.
If the OECD finally recommends these rules in a consensus document, to the extent countries choose to adopt all or part of them, companies will have to carefully consider whether any of their current arrangements may be adversely affected.
More information in this respect can be found here.
