The work of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs is aimed at promoting and developing effective and clear tax policies, international tax standards and guidelines that enable countries to better serve their citizens.

The aim of the Committee is to improve the structure and functioning of national tax systems, promote cooperation between tax administrations and reduce tax barriers in international trade. The Ministry of Finance participates in all working groups and forums of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs of the OECD in the field of international taxation, administrative cooperation and exchange of information for tax purposes.

The OECD Work Programme on Taxation is implemented by the Committee on Fiscal Affairs through the participation of national experts of member states organised in working groups and other preparatory bodies. The working groups develop international tax standards and guidelines and carry out the technical work related to them. The OECD decision-making process in the field of tax policy has a two-stage structure. At the first level, country experts participate in the decision-making process at the working party level and work closely with their delegates in the Committee on Fiscal Affairs. At the second level, senior civil servants from the Member States are involved in the decision-making process for the Fiscal Affairs Committee to ensure the political commitment to implement the decisions taken.

The working parties, which are the preparatory bodies of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs, hold regular meetings and discuss draft documents prepared by the OECD Secretariat, with input from the members of the relevant groups. During the meetings, technical issues are discussed and standards are developed, with delegates agreeing by consensus. The working groups report on progress on specific topics at the meetings of the Committee on fiscal affairs.     

The Inclusive Framework introduced in the Committee on Fiscal Affairs under the Base erosion and profit shifting, uses the current consensus-based mechanism in which all members of the Inclusive Framework have equal participation and vote.

The Republic of Bulgaria, through the Ministry of Finance, participates both in the meetings of the Committee on Fiscal Affairs and in the meetings of its preparatory bodies:

The preparatory body	Sphere of activity
Working party № 1 - Tax treaties and related issues	Its activities include discussion of issues related to the negotiation, implementation and interpretation of bilateral tax treaties, consideration of proposals for amendments to the OECD Model Tax Convention, and preparation of recommendations on issues raised in this area.
Working party № 2 – Analysis of tax policy and tax statistics	The activity of the working group is related to the analysis and evaluation of the social and economic impact of tax policy and is responsible for the annual publication of statistical data on income and remuneration taxation.
Working party № 6 – Taxation of multinational companies	The main activity is related to transfer pricing issues and documentation.
Working party № 9 – Indirect taxes	It assists countries in ensuring appropriate and effective taxation of goods and services by developing international VAT guidelines.
Working party № 10 – Information exchange and regulatory compliance in the tax area	Assists the Committee on Fiscal Affairs in relation to the exchange of information for tax purposes and regulatory compliance in the tax field by developing drafts of the relevant legal instruments.
Working party № 11 – Aggressive tax planning	Assists the Committee on Fiscal Affairs with regard to base shrinkage and profit shifting by developing the tools and measures to prevent tax evasion through the use of aggressive tax planning schemes.
Working party – Digital economy	The main activity of the group is the drafting and consideration of appropriate tax rules in relation to the digital economy. The group’s work is related to understanding how digital business generates profits and analysing how the digitalization of the economy affects business models.
Forum on harmful tax practices	Its meetings discuss measures to more effectively counter harmful tax practices.
Working party – Taxes and development	The group includes representatives of OECD member states, developing countries, international and regional organisations, civil society and business. Its main objective is to help developing countries collect adequate tax revenues.

The legal instruments of the Committee are the Convention on Administrative Mutual Assistance in Tax Matters, as amended by the Protocol amending the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters; The Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting; the Council recommendation on the Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital; the Council recommendation concerning the Granting and Drawing Up of Tax Concessions in Tax Treaties; the Council recommendation regarding the Cancellation of Tax Treaties; Council recommendation on the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect of Property and Inheritance Taxes and on Gifts; Council recommendation on Measures to prevent Base erosion and Profit Shifting related to Transfer Pricing; Council recommendation on the Attribution of Profits to Permanent establishments; Council recommendation on Determination of Transfer Pricing between Associated Enterprises; Council recommendation on Tax Avoidance and Evasion; Council Recommendation on Application of Value Added Tax/Goods and Services Tax to the International Trade in Services and Intangible Assets; Council recommendation on the use the OECD Model Memorandum of Understanding on Automatic Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes; Council recommendation on the Application of Tax Identification Numbers in an International Context; Council recommendation on a model OECD Agreement for Parallel Tax Audits; Council recommendation on Implementing the Proposals contained in the 1998 Report on Harmful Tax Competition; Council recommendation on Countering Unfair Tax Competition; Council recommendation on the Ten Global Principles for Fighting Tax Crime; Council recommendation on Facilitating Co-operation between Tax and Other Law Enforcement Authorities to Combat Serious Crimes; Council recommendation on Tax Measures to Further Combat Bribery of Foreign Officials in International Commercial Transactions; Declaration on Automatic Exchange of Information in Tax matters; Declaration on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting.

Every year the OECD organizes forums in the field of taxes - the Global Forum on VAT, the Global Transfer Pricing Forum, the Global Tax Treaties Forum, the Forum of Tax Administrations and others, in which representatives from the Republic of Bulgaria participate.

In the field of taxation, from the existing OECD working groups and initiatives, the Republic of Bulgaria has joined and participates in the following:

1. Committee on Fiscal Affairs;
2. Forum on Harmful Tax Practices;
3. Forum on Tax Administration MAP Forum;
4. Global Forum AEOI Working Group;
5. Global Forum on Tax Treaties;
6. Global Forum on Transfer Pricing;
7. Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes;
8. Global Forum on VAT;
9. Working Party 10 on the Exchange of Information and Tax Compliance;
10. Working Party 1 on Tax Conventions and Related Questions/MLI;
11. Task Force on Digital Economy;
12. Working Party 11 on Aggressive Tax Planning;
13. Working Party 2 on Tax Policy Analysis and Tax Statistics;
14. Working Party 6 on the Taxation of Multinational Enterprises;
15. Working Party 9 on Consumption Тaxes;
16. Joint Meeting of Tax and Environment Experts;
17. Tax Force on Tax Crimes and Other Crimes.

Positive Aspects of the Membership of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Inclusive Framework of the OECD Plan “Base erosion and profit shifting”

The Republic of Bulgaria joins (associate member) the Inclusive Framework on Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). One of the main positive aspects is that our country is given access to a unique platform for the exchange of best global practices and sharing of experience, as well as establishing good relations with partner countries for effective prevention against tax evasion and non-payment.

The membership in the Inclusive Framework provides an opportunity for our country to participate equally with the OECD/G20 countries in the development of new global tax standards related to the fight against aggressive tax planning and tax avoidance, which is related to obtaining equal access to OECD materials and information on future actions and obligations in relation to taxation. Timely access to information on current and future initiatives in the prevention and fight against tax evasion and tax evasion contributes to the implementation of the commitments made in this area and to the successful accession of the Republic of Bulgaria as a full member of the OECD.

At the same time, the membership provides an opportunity to participate in activities related to the introduction of the standards in the field of tax treaties and transfer pricing, as well as in the process of developing monitoring in connection with the introduction of the four minimum standards and other elements of the BEPS package of measures already agreed by the OECD. The introduction of the measures under the OECD Plan by the Republic of Bulgaria will have a positive impact on the fiscal revenues in the country, while at the same time providing a significant resource for the government to implement the economic and social policies set out in the government programme.

By joining the OECD's BEPS Inclusive Framework, the Republic of Bulgaria has given a clear signal that it stands behind international efforts against tax evasion and non-payment and that the Bulgarian side can be considered a reliable partner that will contribute to the overall international efforts to prevent cross-border tax evasion and evasion by blocking opportunities for tax avoidance, enhancing the transparency of tax systems and stimulating the effective exchange of information for tax purposes between countries. The participation of the Republic of Bulgaria in this international initiative has significantly raised the country's rating and it is treated by international partners as a transparent tax jurisdiction that follows and applies high tax standards.

In the field of tax policy and tax statistics, Bulgaria has joined all the main initiatives of the organization:

• The OECD's Global Revenue Statistics Database (with Decision of the Council of Ministers № 803 of 27.12.2019). From 2020 Bulgaria provides annual information on tax revenues, with data for the period 1995 - 2023 already available in the OECD's online database. The database is a valuable tool for decision-making in the field of tax policy, enabling the exchange of comparable statistical information on tax revenues and comparisons with over 130 countries around the world;
• The 2021 Annual Report on Tax Policy Reforms by providing full and detailed responses to the OECD Tax Policy Reform Questionnaire;
• The OECD Taxing Wages initiative with detailed descriptions and models of payroll taxation, including data on average wages, mandatory non-tax payments and self-employed social security contributions for the period 2000-2023;
• OECD Tax Database with information for the years 2000 to 2023.