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Dear Sir and Madam, UNCTAD's Division on Investment and Enterprise is today circulating a working paper for broad-based feedback to support ongoing work on the theme of FDI, Tax and Development. The paper aims to provide a baseline for the ongoing debate in the international community on tax avoidance, with estimates for the contribution of multinational enterprises (MNEs) to government revenues in developing countries, and estimates for the impact of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS): - The total MNE contribution to developing country government revenues is estimated at some US$730 billion annually. This represents on average just over 10% of total government revenues. - Tax-avoidance revenue losses associated with offshore investment links are calculated at around US$100 billion. This is around one-third of the corporate income tax part of the larger overall fiscal contribution of MNEs. - A significant share of cross-border corporate investment transits through offshore investment hubs. An additional 10% of investment routed through offshore hubs is associated with a 1 percentage point lower reported (taxable) rate of return. The paper provides an investment perspective on international tax avoidance, leading to new insights on the links between investment and tax policies. The study proposes a set of draft guiding principles for Coherent International Tax and Investment Policies as a basis for public debate. Finally, through its Technical Annexes, the paper responds to demand in the international community for new ideas and approaches to examining the fiscal impact of MNEs – including an explicit call in the G20 BEPS Action Plan (Action Point 11). Methodological innovations proposed include the Offshore Investment Matrix, the Contribution and FDI-Income Methods for the calculation of MNE fiscal contributions, and the FDI-Income-Based Revenue Loss Analysis. With its work on FDI, Tax and Development, initiated in response to demand from Member States, UNCTAD's Division on Investment and Enterprise aims to complement ongoing work of the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters and the work of the OECD on BEPS, by providing an investment and development perspective. We request feedback on our working paper, and in particular on the proposed guidelines for Coherent International Tax and Investment Policies, through our Investment Policy Hub ( http://investmentpolicyhub.unctad.org/). Best regards, James Zhan Director Investment & Enterprise United Nations Conference on Trade & Development