OECD:India signs int'l tax agreement

India has become the 32nd signatories for the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said on Thursday. According to an OECD statement, India's signing of the convention, a multilateral agreement promoting international cooperation while respecting the rights of taxpayers, sent "a strong signal that countries are acting together to ensure that individuals and multinational enterprises pay the right amount of tax, at the right time and in the right place." "I expect it will be the first non-OECD G20 country for which the updated Convention is in force," said Jeffrey Owens, Director of the OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration. The convention was developed jointly by the Council of Europe and the OECD and opened for signature by the member states of both organizations on Jan. 25, 1988. It was amended in April 2009 in response to the G20's calling for action "to make it easier for developing countries to secure the benefits of the new cooperative tax environment, including a multilateral approach for the exchange of information." The convention promotes administrative cooperation in the assessment and collection of taxes, with a view to combating tax avoidance and evasion while respecting the rights of taxpayers.