Updated November 11, 2019.
The OECD has provided definitions for the figures that should be included in the country by country reporting. A number of questions have arisen in relation to the definitions and thus the OECD has clarified some of these in a guidance, the latest update released in November 2019. Please note that in addition to the latest definitions, the OECD released a clarification on shortened amounts which might have a big impact on some groups. The clarification reads:
The jurisdiction where the Ultimate Parent Entity of an MNE Group is resident is not required to accept any rounding of financial amounts in the preparation of Table 1. Such jurisdiction may, however, accept a reasonable level of rounding and, where this is accepted by the residence jurisdiction of the Ultimate Parent Entity, a CbC report prepared on this basis will be considered to be in accordance with the minimum standard. In light of this, it is important for you to check what is allowed with your tax authority before you apply any rounding.
Each jurisdiction may determine the level of rounding that is reasonable, taking into account factors including the relative nominal value of its currency unit. However, reasonable rounding cannot include any rounding that could materially distort the data contained in Table 1. As a guide, rounding financial data to the nearest EUR 1 000, USD 1 000 or JPY 1 000 000 is likely to be considered reasonable. In all cases, amounts should be reported in full numbers, including all zeroes with no shortening.
It is important for qualifying groups to read these definitions carefully in order to file correct figures with your tax authority and to avoid questions related to your reported figures.
You may also benefit from explaining some of your figures in table 3 and for some situations you are required to include information in table 3. This is the case for the sources of data used as a basis for the CbC reporting. The reporting MNE may choose to use data from its consolidation reporting packages, from separate entity financial statements, regulatory financial statements, or internal management accounts. The reporting MNE should also provide a brief description of the sources of data used in preparing the template in Table 3. If a change is made to the source of data used from year to year, the reporting MNE should explain the reasons for the change and its consequences.
Please find below an overview of the OECD definitions provided by the Guidance documentation. We have included some clarifications from local tax authorities as well which might be of interest to read. Please, do check with your local tax authority what local definitions apply in your jurisdiction.
To read more about how to solve your CbC reporting, please read more at Country-by-Country Reporting.
Revenues
OECD
(i) the sum of revenues of all the Constituent Entities of the MNE group in the relevant tax jurisdiction generated from transactions with associated enterprises;
(ii) the sum of revenues of all the Constituent Entities of the MNE group in the relevant tax jurisdiction generated from transactions with independent parties; and
(iii) the total of (i) and (ii).Revenues should include revenues from sales of inventory and properties, services, royalties, interest, premiums and any other amounts.Revenues should exclude payments received from other Constituent Entities that are treated as dividends in the payor’s tax jurisdiction.
From the OECD guidance – September 2017
Extraordinary income and gains from investment activities are to be included in “Revenues.” All revenue, gains, income, or other inflows shown in the financial statement prepared in accordance with the applicable accounting rules relating to profit and loss, such as the income statement or profit and loss statement, should be reported as Revenues in Table 1. For example, if the income statement prepared in accordance with the applicable accounting rules shows sales revenue, net capital gains from sales of assets, unrealized gains, interest received, and extraordinary income, the amount of those items reported in the income statement should be aggregated and reported as Revenues in Table 1. Comprehensive income/earnings, revaluations, and/or unrealized gains reflected in net assets and the equity section of the balance sheet should not be reported as Revenues in Table 1. The amount of any income items shown on the income statement need not be adjusted from a net amount.For the third column of Table 1 of the CbC report, the related parties, which are defined as “associated enterprises” in the Action 13 report, should be interpreted as the Constituent Entities listed in Table 2 of the CbC report. The Action 13 Report and the model legislation contemplate that reporting will occur on an aggregate basis at a jurisdictional level [i.e. not consolidated data]. Accordingly, data should be reported on an aggregated basis, regardless of whether the transactions occurred cross-border or within the jurisdiction, or between related parties or unrelated parties. This guidance will be particularly relevant for the columns on related party revenues and total revenues. An MNE Group may use the notes section in Table 3 to explain the data if it wishes to do so.
From the OECD guidance – November 2017
The amount of revenues and profits determined in accordance with fair value accounting and reported in financial statements may be reported in the CbC report without further adjustment.
Local
Note, some jurisdictions have issued further clearance on revenue, e.g.: Whether revenue is to be reported net or gross would depend on the industry practice. For example, the practice in the banking industry may be to include net (i.e. as opposed to gross) interest income as a revenue item in the accounts.
It is expected that the reporting entity / domestic constituent entity takes a reasonable, practical and consistent approach. The onus is on the reporting entity / domestic constituent entity to ensure that the CbC Report / Equivalent CbC Report is complete and accurate.
Group contributions received should not be included in Revenue irrespective of how it has been accounted for (balance sheet or in the income statement).
Profit (loss) before income tax
OECD
The sum of the profit (loss) before income tax for all the Constituent Entities resident for tax purposes in the relevant tax jurisdiction. The profit (loss) before income tax should include all extraordinary income and expense items.
From the OECD guidance – November 2019
Consistent with Revenue, Profit (Loss) before Income Tax excludes payments received from other Constituent Entities that are treated as dividends in the payer’s tax jurisdiction. This guidance applies to all reporting fiscal years of MNE groups commencing on or after 1 January 2020.
Where applicable accounting rules require or permit a Constituent Entity to include in profit before tax for financial reporting purposes an amount representing all or part of the profit of another Constituent Entity, this amount should be treated in the same way as dividends from other Constituent Entities and excluded from Revenue and Profit (Loss) before Income Tax.
Local
Note, some jurisdictions have issued further clearance on profit (loss) before income tax. E.g. all group contributions (sent and received) should be included in profit (loss) before income tax or that dividends should be included.
Income Tax Paid (on Cash Basis)
OECD
The total amount of income tax actually paid during the relevant fiscal year by all the Constituent Entities resident for tax purposes in the relevant tax jurisdiction. Taxes paid should include cash taxes paid by the Constituent Entity to the residence tax jurisdiction and to all other tax jurisdictions. Taxes paid should include withholding taxes paid by other entities (associated enterprises and independent enterprises) with respect to payments to the Constituent Entity. Thus, if company A resident in tax jurisdiction A earns interest in tax jurisdiction B, the tax withheld in tax jurisdiction B should be reported by company A.
From the OECD guidance – September 2017
Income Tax Paid (on Cash Basis) is the amount of the taxes actually paid during the Reporting Fiscal Year, which should thus include not only advanced payments fulfilling the relevant fiscal year’s tax obligation but also payments fulfilling the previous year(s)’ tax obligation (e.g. payment of the unpaid balance of corporate income tax accrued in relation to the previous year(s), including payments related to reassessments of previous years), regardless of whether those taxes have been paid under protest. The amount of Income Tax Accrued-Current Year and Income Tax Paid (on Cash Basis) should be reported independently.
In general, a refund of income tax should be reported in Income Tax Paid (on Cash Basis) in the reporting fiscal year in which the refund is received. An exception to this may be permitted where the refund is treated as revenue of the MNE group under the applicable accounting standard or in the source of data used to complete Table 1. Where this is the case, taxpayers should provide the following statement in Table 3: “Tax refunds are reported in Revenues and not in Income Tax Paid (on Cash Basis)”.
From the OECD guidance – November 2019
Income tax paid should not include income tax paid with respect to dividends from other constituent entities (CEs) that are not included in “Profit (loss) before Income Tax. If dividends are included in Profit (loss) before income tax before 1 January 2020 and income tax related to these dividends have been paid, then this income tax should be included in the Income tax paid reporting.
Local
Note, there are jurisdictions which have stated that yield tax on pensions for some entities should be included in income tax paid.
The income taxes paid may include any taxes paid on dividends. If included, this should be noted in Table 3 of the CbC report with an explanation of any disparity this may cause between the amounts reported under ‘Revenues’, ‘Profit (loss) before income tax’, ‘Income tax paid’ and ‘Income tax accrued’.
Income Tax Accrued (Current Year)
OECD
The sum of the accrued current tax expense recorded on taxable profits or losses of the year of reporting of all the Constituent Entities resident for tax purposes in the relevant tax jurisdiction. The current tax expense should reflect only operations in the current year and should not include deferred taxes or provisions for uncertain tax liabilities.
From the OECD guidance – September 2017
Income Tax Accrued-Current Year is the amount of accrued current tax expense recorded on taxable profits or losses for the Reporting Fiscal Year of all Constituent Entities resident for tax purposes in the relevant tax jurisdiction irrespective of whether or not the tax has been paid (e.g. based on a preliminary tax assessment).
From the OECD guidance – November 2019
Income tax accrued should not include income tax accrued with respect to dividends from other constituent entities (CEs) that are not included in “Profit (loss) before Income Tax. If dividends are included in Profit (loss) before income tax before 1 January 2020 and income tax-related these dividends are accrued, then this income tax should be included in the Income tax accrued reporting.
Local
Note, there are jurisdictions which have stated that yield tax on pensions for some entities should be included in income tax accrued.
The income taxes accrued may include any taxes accrued on dividends. If included, this should be noted in Table 3 of the CbC report with an explanation of any disparity this may cause between the amounts reported under ‘Revenues’, ‘Profit (loss) before income tax’, ‘Income tax paid’ and ‘Income tax accrued’.
Stated Capital
OECD
The sum of the stated capital of all the Constituent Entities resident for tax purposes in the relevant tax jurisdiction. With regard to permanent establishments, the stated capital should be reported by the legal entity of which it is a permanent establishment unless there is a defined capital requirement in the permanent establishment tax jurisdiction for regulatory purposes.
Local
Note, in some jurisdictions stated capital has been defined as paid in capital where applicable.
Other jurisdictions give further guidance: ‘Stated Capital’ refers to capital as reflected in the financial statements. It would usually be the ordinary share capital but can also include preference share capital, share premium, other contributed capital and perpetual securities.
The amounts recorded as ‘Stated capital’ for each entity should generally be the residual of equity after subtracting amounts that are, or are in the nature of, accumulated earnings (or retained earnings).
Accumulated Earnings
OECD
The sum of the total accumulated earnings of all the Constituent Entities resident for tax purposes in the relevant tax jurisdiction as of the end of the year. With regard to permanent establishments, accumulated earnings should be reported by the legal entity of which it is a permanent establishment.
From the OECD guidance – November 2017
The negative figure for accumulated earnings should be reported in Table 1 without modification. Where there are two or more constituent entities in the same jurisdiction, the negative figures for accumulated earnings, if there are any, should be netted with the positive figures for accumulated earnings. Where this is the case, taxpayers should provide the following statement in Table 3: “Accumulated earnings include negative figures for jurisdiction [–]”. Inclusive Framework members are encouraged to require their taxpayers to provide the above
information in Table 3 as soon as possible, taking into account the specific domestic circumstances.
Number of Employees
OECD
The total number of employees on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis of all the Constituent Entities resident for tax purposes in the relevant tax jurisdiction. The number of employees may be reported as of the year-end, on the basis of average employment levels for the year, or on any other basis consistently applied across tax jurisdictions and from year to year. For this purpose, independent contractors participating in the ordinary operating activities of the Constituent Entity may be reported as employees. Reasonable rounding or approximation of the number of employees is permissible, providing that such rounding or approximation does not materially distort the relative distribution of employees across the various tax jurisdictions. Consistent approaches should be applied from year to year and across entities.
Local
Some jurisdictions have issued local clarifications: Non-executive directors would not qualify as employees since non-executive directors do not participate actively in the running of the business operations. Executive directors on the other hand would qualify as employees.
With regard to employees that have been seconded within an MNE Group, from one group entity to another group entity, the reporting entity/ domestic constituent entity is best placed to decide in which entity’s headcount seconded employees should be included for the purposes of the CbC Report.
Tangible Assets other than Cash and Cash Equivalents
OECD
The sum of the net book values of tangible assets of all the Constituent Entities resident for tax purposes in the relevant tax jurisdiction. With regard to permanent establishments, assets should be reported by reference to the tax jurisdiction in which the permanent establishment is situated. Tangible assets for this purpose do not include cash or cash equivalents, intangibles, or financial assets.
Further guidance can be found at:
- Transfer Pricing Documentation and Country-by-Country Reporting, Action 13 – 2015 Final Report
- Guidance on Country-by-Country Reporting: BEPS Action 13