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…

International Tax Law, OECD, Tax Treaties, United Nations

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

Some four years ago in this blog, I wrote about problems that would start to emerge as exchange of information between tax administrations became more routine and extensive.  If nothing else, the number of disputes in this area was bound to increase. See also Exchange of Information: bumps in the road. 2019 has already seen…

India, International Tax Law, Permanent Establishments, POEM, Residence, Royalties, United States, VAT

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

While earthlings are grappling with taxation in a digitalised world, a new and important frontier has been opening up somewhat less observed. Commercial exploitation of space has become commonplace and plans for activity beyond our planet more ambitious. At the IFA Permanent Scientific Committee  we are always looking ahead to see where cutting-edge tax issues…

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…

International Tax Law, Value Creation

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

Some issues tax issues never go away. The source of income or gain is one of them. Two recent decisions, one Australian, and the other South African, have considered this fundamental issue. Both cases involve the natural resource sector. Each relates to a fact pattern that is frequently found in the sector. Correct identification of…

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

(Temple Tax Chambers; King’s College London)/ /3 Comments

The judgements of the CJEU in N Luxembourg 1 v Skatteministeriet (Case C-115/16) and joined cases and in T Danmark (Case C-116/16)  and another joined case, on 26 February 2019, once again addressed numerous controversies over meaning of the term “beneficial ownership”. The court’s concern in N Luxembourg was qualification for relief from withholding tax…

Alienation of Shares, BEPS, Double Taxation, International Tax Law, M&A and Reorganizations, MLI, OECD, Residence, State Aid, Tax Avoidance, Tax Treaties

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

The Tax Court of Canada decision in Alta Energy Luxembourg S.A.R.L. v. The Queen, 2018 TCC 152 (CanLII) on August 22, 2018 may provide useful pointers to the meaning and application of the PPT found in Article 7(1) of the MLI and Article 29(9). A Luxembourg resident company claimed exemption from Canadian income tax under…

BEPS, International Tax Law, MLI, OECD, Tax Policy, Tax Treaties, Transfer Pricing, United Nations

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

The update on tax certainty IMF/OECD Report for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors   published on 22 July 2018 may not have been everyone’s summer holiday reading. This report follows on from the 2017 IMF/OECD Report for the G20 Finance Ministers in March 2017. It should certainly give pause for thought. The “tax…

Arbitration, BEPS, Brexit, EU/EEA, Tax Avoidance, VAT

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

What the UK government wants by way of Brexit outcome seems to change daily, with the government and political parties in Parliament divided among various factions. The only legal certainty about Brexit is that unless the UK and the remaining member states agree otherwise, EU law will cease to apply in the UK after 29…

BEPS, International Tax Law, OECD, Tax Avoidance, Tax Policy, Tax Treaties, Uncategorized

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

I am delighted to see that my post on value creation has stimulated discussion on the fundamental thinking about international taxation. See the posts of my friends and colleagues Werner Haslehner and Sergio André Rocha. At the IFA seminar in Rotterdam, we puzzled over the meaning of “value creation”. Werner also referred to another mystifying…

BEPS, Double Taxation, Intangibles, OECD, Tax Policy, Transfer Pricing

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

“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” George Santayana, The Life of Reason: Reason in Common Sense (1905). A seminar was held in Rotterdam on 18 May 2018 on “value creation” in the new tax universe to celebrate the 80th anniversary of the International Fiscal Association. An erudite panel, comprising Prof…