Double Taxation

Double Taxation, Financial institutions, Income categorization, International Tax Law, MNE Profits, OECD, Permanent Establishments, Royalties, Tax Treaties, United Kingdom

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

Following the Supreme Court decision in Fowler v HMRC [2020] UKSC 22, the UK First-tier Tribunal has considered another case where classification of a source of income for tax treaty purposes was in issue. This time the question was classification as business profit or income from immovable property in the Canada-UK double tax treaty. In…

Abuse of rights, Distance selling, Double Taxation, EU/EEA, VAT

(UC Louvain; Arteo Law, Brussels)/ /Leave a comment

International double taxation should be to European VAT harmonization what tropical temperatures should be to the polar regions: a challenge of the natural laws of the universe and, at the same time, a wound inflicted to a fragile ecosystem. And yet, last June, both phenomena were officially recognized by international independent bodies: temperatures of 38…

Abuse of law, Anti-tax avoidance, Double non-taxation, Double Taxation, International Tax Law, Mauritius, MLI, Netherlands, OECD, Principal purpose test, Tax Avoidance, Tax Planning, Tax Treaties, Treaty shopping, United Kingdom

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

In last month’s blog I promised to address the treaty aspects of  Davies and Others v HMRC [2020] UKUT 67 (TCC). The case concerned UK resident individuals who each took out a life insurance policy with a Bermuda insurer under which their entitlements were linked to a Mauritian company that developed land in the UK….

BEPS, COVID-19, Double Taxation, Employment, Fees for technical services, International Tax Law, Ireland, MLI, OECD, Permanent Establishments, POEM, Residence, Tax Treaties, United Nations

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

Measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus have impacted on every aspect of life. While the degree of enforced isolation and immobility varies from country to country, the basic elements remain the same: Most people are compelled to stay at home and to work from there if possible. The speed with which the pandemic has…

Abuse of law, Anti-tax avoidance, BEPS, Double non-taxation, Double Taxation, International Tax Law, MLI, OECD, Principal purpose test, Residence, Substance, Tax Avoidance, Tax Planning, Tax Treaties, Treaty shopping, Uncategorized, United Nations

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /1 Comment

The Canadian Federal Court of Appeal has upheld the Tax Court of Canada decision in Canada v. Alta Energy Luxembourg S.A.R.L., 2020 FCA 43 (CanLII).   The case is of some significance because the Canadian Revenue Agency (“CRA”) sought to apply the Canadian domestic general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) in order to deny treaty relief. The…

Double Taxation, EU law, EU/EEA, International Tax Law, Ireland, MNE Profits, OECD, Permanent Establishments, Tax Treaties, Transfer Pricing, United States

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

Two cases, currently before different courts highlight long-standing questions around the attribution of profits to permanent establishments. Irish and United Kingdom law on the attribution of profits to branches of non-resident companies remined identical for decades until 2003. In each country, a non-resident company trading through a branch in that country was chargeable to corporation…

Dividends, Double Taxation, International Tax Law, Latin America, Netherlands, OECD, Personal income tax, Residence, Tax Treaties, United Nations, Withholding Taxes

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /1 Comment

Equality is one of the core values of modern democratic societies. It is no accident that equality featured in opening preamble to the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776 and the first article of both the French Declaration of the Rights of Man in 1789 and the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights…

Anti-tax avoidance, BEPS, Double Taxation, India, MLI, OECD, Permanent Establishments, POEM, Principal purpose test, Residence, Tax Avoidance, Tax Treaties

(Tax Lawyer)/ /Leave a comment

India recently notified a Protocol that amends the India-China tax treaty and incorporates some of the OECD recommendations put forth as part of its BEPS project. The changes would apply from the 2020 financial year. The Protocol brings about serious changes to the tax treaty in several areas, including limiting treaty abuse, tackling artificial avoidance…

Alienation of Shares, Double Taxation, International Tax Law, M&A and Reorganizations, MNE Profits, OECD, Real Estate, Tax Treaties, United Nations

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

Two of my recent articles have examined the Australian decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Resource Capital Fund IV LP [2019] FCAFC 51. The articles examine the central question on the source of income earned and the tax classification and entitlement to treaty benefits of investment funds. Real property gains This time I consider two…

BEPS, Double Taxation, Hybrids, International Tax Law, MLI, OECD, Residence, Tax Treaties, Treaty shopping, United States

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

Commissioner of Taxation v Resource Capital Fund IV LP [2019] FCAFC 51 addressed a number of fundamental international tax issues. The case concerned a gain from the sale of shares in an Australian incorporated public company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange by two Cayman Island limited partnerships whose partners included residents of the United…

BEPS, Double Taxation, International Tax Law, MAPs and APAs, OECD, Residence, Tax Treaties

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /Leave a comment

Mutual agreement procedure (MAP) pursuant to article 25 of the OECD and UN Model treaties imposes obligations on tax administrations. Inadequacies in the performance of these obligations has been the subject of much work by the OECD in the course of the 21st Century. BEPS Action 14 OECD Action 14 – 2015 Final Report, Making…

Double Taxation, MAPs and APAs, OECD, Tax Treaties, Transfer Pricing

(Tax Policy Division, Ministry of Finance, India) and (Tax Policy Center of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland)/ /Leave a comment

Corresponding adjustments and the MAP process When the price charged for goods or services sold between related parties is not in accordance with the arm’s length principle, Article 9(1) of the OECD Model authorizes the tax authorities of a State to make primary adjustments to the transfer price. This may trigger economic double taxation as…

Double Taxation, International Tax Law, OECD, Tax Policy, Tax Treaties, United Nations

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /2 Comments

The High Court of Kenya gave judgement on 15 March 2019 on a challenge to the validity of the Kenyan-Mauritius double tax treaty in Tax Justice Network- Africa v Kenya Revenue Authority and others.  The petitioners had sought a declaration that the treaty had not been subjected to the ratification of domestic law and the…

Abuse of law, Beneficial ownership, Double Taxation, EU/EEA, International Tax Law, OECD, Substance, Tax Avoidance, Tax Treaties

(Luxembourg University) and (Johannes Kepler University Linz, Austria)/ /Leave a comment

Jonathan Schwarz has already briefly discussed the CJEU’s judgment in the “Danish Beneficial Ownership Cases” (C-115/16, C-118/16, C-119/16, C-299/16 and C-116/16 and C-117/16), noting that the cases “represent a landmark on beneficial ownership” and comparing them to recent international tax law jurisprudence, concluding that the “voyage of discovery is certainly not at and end”. In…