The term Base Erosion and Profit Shifting' is sometimes seen in the news in the context of

Defines BEPS as sophisticated tax planning by MNCs that shifts income to tax havens and erodes the tax base.

A student could combine this tax-focused definition with a basic fact that mining operations are physical activities to judge whether BEPS names a mining activity or a tax phenomenon.

States OECD has a BEPS framework and links BEPS to misuse of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAA).

One could check whether OECD/DTAA discussions concern tax/legal rules rather than on-the-ground mining operations, helping reject the mining-operations interpretation.

Lists BEPS among tax topics (Panama Papers, DTAA, AEOI) in a chapter on tax structure and public finance.

A student could note the topical grouping with tax and information-exchange issues to infer BEPS is a fiscal/tax term, not a descriptor of mining projects.

Notes heavy profit remittance abroad by multinationals (high profit rates), a pattern that aligns with profit shifting concerns.

Using this pattern plus a map of where mining occurs, a student could ask whether profit remittance is linked to tax strategies rather than to the physical fact of mining in backward regions.

Describes government revenue mechanisms from mining (royalties, auctioned payments), highlighting fiscal aspects of mining.

A student could contrast mining-specific fiscal rules with BEPS' focus on cross-border tax avoidance to assess whether the term labels mining operations or tax-base erosion.