On April 13, 2014, TEI submitted comments to the OECD regarding its Public Discussion Draft on BEPS Action 1: Address the Tax Challenges of the Digital Economy. The Institute agreed with the OECD that there was no need to “ring fence” the digital economy through the adoption of special or separate international tax rules, and that any such attempt would be inadvisable. TEI also commented that the core activities of digital businesses do not differ significantly from traditional businesses and that digital businesses face the same hurdles when moving its assets between jurisdictions as brick-and-mortar businesses, among other things.
TEI’s comments were prepared under the aegis of TEI’s European Direct Tax Committee, whose chair is Nick Hasenoehrl of Herbalife. Benjamin R. Shreck, TEI Tax Counsel, coordinated the preparation of TEI’s comments.