Strengthening International Tax Transparency on Real Estate – From Concept to Reality : OECD Report to G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors

In July 2023, following a request from the Indian G20 Presidency, the OECD delivered a report making the case for enhanced tax transparency on real estate and setting out a number of conceptual solutions to improve the existing architecture on a voluntary basis. Since then, technical work has continued at OECD-level to refine the understanding of the information needs of tax administrations, the information they have available and the steps needed to deliver increased transparency in this area. Against this background, this report sets out the building blocks to bring increased transparency into practice. These building blocks can be adopted incrementally by interested jurisdictions, starting with maximising exchanges of readily available information between interested jurisdictions and progressively moving towards more structural solutions for international co-operation on real estate, underpinned by reliable data sources and efficient methods for receiving the information that is relevant for tax purposes. These structural solutions would also ensure access to beneficial owner information when real estate is held through legal entities or arrangements. This report was prepared by the OECD to inform the discussions at the July 2024 meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, at the request of the G20 Brazilian Presidency.