In this article, which is divided in two parts, the authors consider two judgments from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in respect of the VAT exemption for the management of funds. In particular, the authors examine how these judgments deal with the issue of digitalisation and outsourcing. Part 1 of this…

  On 20 May, 2021 the first Webinar of IFA’s online series “A conversation on International Tax Practice” was held. Chaired by Robert Danon (Chair IFA Permanent Scientific Committee), global experts shared their perspectives on India’s software royalty case and on landmark transfer pricing rulings delivered by Courts in various jurisdictions thereby suggesting alignment and…

In one of the significant and eye-catching moves by the Indian government, the controversial law on retrospective tax on indirect transfer of shares representing assets held in India was withdrawn and was made prospective[1]. The law passed recently also proposed to refund the amount paid in these cases without any interest thereon. The retrospective introduction…

When is a taxpayer a resident of a contracting state for purposes of a tax treaty? The decades old definition in article 4(1) of the OECD Model that ‘“resident of a Contracting State” means any person who, under the laws of that State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place…

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions:   Gabriela Lagos Rodríguez, Financial Transaction Tax in Europe Over the last two decades, the European Union (EU) and various European States have proposed or created several taxes aimed at increasing the overall tax…

The present article explores some concrete application cases of Big Data in Tax Administrations (TAs). It then formulates some ideas for its possible expansion in the near future, considering both advantages and disadvantages.   1. Big Data The concepts of Big Data, data analytics and artificial intelligence are not new. Still, some technological advances have made…

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions:   Aleksandra Tychmańska, The OECD as the Future International Tax Organization: An Inevitable Course of Events? Over the years, the increasing process of tax law internationalization may be observed due to which tax cooperation…

“Bitcoin is now considered an investable asset” – reads the first sentence of the interview with Mathew McDermott, Global Head of Digital Assets at Goldman Sachs in the newly-issued report by the bank. With the recent buzz in the news about cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Cardano we wanted to discuss how Malta has…

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions:   Robert Danon, Daniel Gutmann, Margriet Lukkien, Guglielmo Maisto, Adolfo Martín Jiménez & Benjamin Malek, The Prohibition of Abuse of Rights After the ECJ Danish Cases Since they were delivered in February 2019 the…

Tax authorities have relied on informers for investigative leads perhaps since taxes were first imposed. In the 21st Century high profile cases of theft of taxpayer information by employees of service providers including banks and professional firms have provided data not only of interest to tax authorities but also as a driver of international tax…

The Trade Agreement between the EU and the UK rules out any direct effect. However, the Trade Agreement could have an indirect effect. EU Member States should interpret the capital ownership provisions in their bilateral tax treaties with the UK in line with the Trade Agreement and its provision on national treatment. On the basis…

The vexed question of whether country-by-country reports (CBCR) on multinational companies’ tax affairs should be made public[1] has been a recurrent topic in the tax debates for years. In Europe several attempts were made along the year to have public CbCR without success. Furthermore, the approach adopted by European countries with reference to public CbCR…

(Forthcoming: Intertax, vol. 49, 2021, issue 8/9) Like it or not, the Covid-19 pandemic has been changing our way of life. Among others, large-scale lockdowns drive us to work from home and to rely heavily on videoconferencing and online-shopping. Thus, the arguably already digitalized life has been further digitalized! In the fiscal circle, the tax…

The relationship between treaties and domestic tax law ought to be straightforward. The pacta servanda sunt principle expressed in articles 26 and 27 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties itself implies that treaty obligations must be upheld notwithstanding domestic law. A variety of constitutional arrangements around the world mean that there is…