The OECD Unified Approach Marches (Stumbles?) Forward

OECD "Unified Approach" is marching – or perhaps stumbling – forward. The OECD Secretariat proposed the Unified Approach in October 2019 to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalization of the economy. In a December 2019 letter, U.S. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin expressed serious reservations about aspects of the Unified Approach and proposed its adoption on a "safe harbor" basis, only, casting doubt on its viability. Nonetheless, in a January 31, 2020, statement (the "Statement"), the 130+ countries of the OECD Inclusive Framework endorsed the Unified Approach as providing an "outline of an architecture" and a "basis for negotiations" for a consensus-based solution. By narrowing the scope of further technical work and holding to an ambitious, June 2020 deadline for agreement on key policy features, the Statement suggests (or at least reflects hope for) surprising progress.