I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4297 
To impose certain requirements on the Secretary of the Treasury relating 
to transmittals of country-by-country reports for purposes of the Base 
Erosion and Profit Shifting Action Plan. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
DECEMBER 18, 2015 
Mr. BOUSTANY introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means, and in addition to the Committee on Foreign 
Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To impose certain requirements on the Secretary of the 
Treasury relating to transmittals of country-by-country 
reports for purposes of the Base Erosion and Profit 
Shifting Action Plan. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. REQUIRED MEASURES RELATING TO TRANS-
MITTALS 
OF 
COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY 
RE-
PORTS AND MASTER FILE INFORMATION. 
(a) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary is expressly pro-
hibited from collecting from a United States person or 
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transmitting to any foreign jurisdiction any country-by- 
country report information of any United States person 
with respect to taxable years beginning before January 1, 
2017. 
(b) SUSPENSION OF TRANSMITTAL OF CBCRS.—The 
Secretary shall suspend the transmittal of country-by- 
country report information of any United States person 
to a foreign jurisdiction if the Secretary determines that 
the foreign jurisdiction is— 
(1) abusing master file documentation require-
ments; or 
(2) failing to safeguard the confidentiality of in-
formation required in the master file. 
(c) FACTORS IN DETERMINING ABUSE OF MASTER 
FILE DOCUMENTATION REQUIREMENTS.—For purposes 
of this section, a foreign jurisdiction is abusing master file 
documentation requirements if, in connection with the ad-
ministration of the transfer pricing documentation stand-
ards set forth in Action 13 of the Base Erosion and Profit 
Shifting Action plan, the foreign jurisdiction is seeking— 
(1) any trade, business, industrial, commercial 
or professional secret or trade process; 
(2) group consolidated financial statements that 
are not filed with the United States Securities and 
Exchange Commission; 
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(3) confidential communications between a cli-
ent and an attorney, solicitor or other admitted legal 
representative where such communications are— 
(A) produced for the purposes of seeking 
or providing legal advice, or 
(B) produced for the purposes of use in ex-
isting or contemplated legal proceedings; 
(4) information if the disclosure would be con-
trary to United States public policy (ordre public); 
or 
(5) information the Secretary otherwise deter-
mines to be inappropriate for purposes of this sec-
tion. 
(d) REPORTS.—Not later than January 31 of each 
calendar year, the Secretary shall furnish to the Com-
mittee on Ways and Means of the House of Representa-
tives, the Committee on Finance of the Senate, and the 
Joint Committee on Taxation a report on allegations or 
reports received concerning abuse of master file require-
ments, and any actions taken with respect to such allega-
tions, including— 
(1) the instances in the preceding calendar year 
the Secretary determined under subsection (b) the 
abuse of master file documentation requirements 
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and failures to safeguard the confidentiality of infor-
mation required in the master file, and 
(2) the nature of each such abuse or failure. 
(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section— 
(1) BASE
EROSION
AND
PROFIT
SHIFTING 
PLAN.—The term ‘‘Base Erosion and Profit Shifting 
Action Plan’’, known as ‘‘BEPS’’, means the plan 
released by the Organization for Economic Coopera-
tion and Development. 
(2) COUNTRY-BY-COUNTRY REPORT.—The term 
‘‘country-by-country report’’, known as ‘‘CbCR’’, 
means a report contemplated under Action Item 13 
of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Action Plan. 
(3) MASTER
FILE.—The term ‘‘master file’’ 
means the documentation contemplated under Ac-
tion Item 13 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting 
Action Plan and necessary to provide a high-level 
overview in order to place a United States person’s 
transfer pricing practices in their global economic, 
legal, financial, and tax context, in order to provide 
backdrop to country-by-country report data reported. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Treasury, or the Secretary’s 
delegate. 
Æ 
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