Over the last few years, a number of key jurisdictions have adopted regulations requiring companies engaged in natural resource extraction activities to disclose the payments they make to governments and state-owned companies. These regulatory initiatives, commonly referred to as “publish what you pay” rules, aim to promote fiscal transparency in the natural resources sector.

This client publication provides an overview of the current status of the adoption of “publish what you pay” laws, and the rules and regulations implementing those laws, in four key jurisdictions: the United States, the European Union, Canada and Australia. This publication also aims to offer some initial observations regarding how the reporting framework in each of these jurisdictions applies, or will apply once in effect, to companies, as well as some of the principal ways in which these frameworks are aligned with each other and how they differ.