In light of such practices — which are entirely legal, taking advantage of differing tax rules around the world — the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has proposed that all nations adopt 15 new tax principles for corporations. The plan focuses on corporations only and would, if adopted widely, shift some of the global tax burden toward large companies — the ones big and rich enough to devise complex tax-reduction strategies — and away from small businesses and individuals, which tend to spend a much bigger share of their incomes on taxes.

The list, presented Friday at a meeting of finance ministers of the Group of 20 countries in Moscow, includes ideas to prevent corporations from “treaty shopping” to find countries with the lowest taxes and then find ways to book their profits there, even when much of the money is made elsewhere.

The group recommended strict rules for defining where a company has a permanent presence. It also proposed three measures to limit the practice of so-called transfer pricing — the shunting of profits and losses between subsidiaries by disguising them as internal corporate payments for goods or, as is increasingly common, for copyright or patent royalties.

Friday’s proposal represents a new global commitment to tackle an issue that has drawn angry outcry in some countries. Lawmakers in the British Parliament and the United States Congress this year have held hearings on corporate tax avoidance. It is unclear if this proposal will gain any more traction than past statements of resolve by the Group of 20 nations with the biggest economies. The Obama administration has endorsed the plan and Jacob J. Lew, the Treasury secretary, issued a statement saying it would help “address the persistent issue of stateless income, which undermines confidence in our tax system.”

The O.E.C.D. does not expect to complete work on the proposals until the fall of 2015, and after that it would be up to governments and legislatures to pass new tax laws adopting them.