Vietnam Signs Multilateral Convention on Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters

Vietnam and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (MAAC) in Paris on March 22.

Deputy Finance Minister Cao Anh Tuan signed this MAAC Convention on behalf of the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

The MAAC Convention was developed jointly by the OECD and the Council of Europe (EC) in 1988 and amended by Protocol in 2010 to become open to any state that is non-OECD and non-EC member to sign MAAC. MAAC is the most comprehensive multilateral international legal framework available today that covers various forms of international cooperation in tax administration to tackle tax evasion and avoidance, such as information exchange (on request, automatic or voluntary), simultaneous tax exchange, overseas tax check and tax debt recovery support; and some other provisions on validity, ratification, reservation and annulment of the MAAC Convention.

Vietnam’s signing of MAAC will create a multilateral legal framework to expand international cooperation in tax administration, carry out Party and State policies on “active and positive comprehensive, intensive and effective international integration” and “foster and elevate multilateral diplomacy.” The entry into MAAC is also a necessary tool for members to join the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). At the same time, this is also the EU's criterion to assess the degree of cooperation of a country on tax issues and enhance the prestige and position of Vietnam in cooperation frameworks with multilateral international economic and financial institutions (like APEC and ASEAN).

On this occasion, the delegation of the Ministry of Finance discussed with the OECD on implementation of Pillar 2 - Global Minimum Tax, updates from countries around the world, and OECD guidelines on practical solutions on the implementation of Pillar 2 as well as OECD support for implementation in developing countries, including Vietnam.

By Le Hien, Vietnam Business Forum