Many countries will likely face the need to increase tax revenues, as part of fiscal consolidation, during the next few years. But how is this best done? And what are the considerations when choosing between raising tax rates and broadening the tax base by scaling back or abolishing targeted tax...

This report gives an update on fiscal consolidation strategies across OECD member countries since last year. Chapter 1 describes the scope and composition of country plans, compares them with calculated fiscal need, and provides information on the timing and details. Chapter 2 contains notes on...

Agility is a tool that can help governments to not only maintain but even improve public services in a time of fiscal consolidation. Financial uncertainty is not the only challenge governments face today. Changing demographics, globalisation, climate change, risk of potential large-scale...

The past decade has witnessed a significant increase in cross-border capital flows and a pronounced shift in their composition towards portfolio investment, with much of the capital under management by mutual funds or "collective investment institutions" resident in OECD countries, as well as in...

Currently, there is a lack of consensus amongst OECD Member countries as to how profits should be attributed to a permanent establishment (PE). As a first step in remedying this situation a working hypothesis has been developed as to the preferred approach for attributing profits to the PE. The...

Trends in bank profitability and factors affecting it are major indicators of changes in the state of health of national banking systems. OECD statistics published annually under the title Bank Profitability -- Financial Statements of Banks, provide a unique tool for analysing developments in...

This publication complements Bank Profitability: Financial Statements of Banks. The notes included in this volume were prepared to facilitate the comprehension and the interpretation of the statistics and to provide a brief description of the activities of banks in each country.