Although the meaning of beneficial ownership in tax treaties first burst onto the scene in Indofood International Finance Ltd v JP Morgan Chase Bank N.A. London Branch [2006] EWCA Civ 158  and, for the first time in Canada in Prévost Car Inc. v R 2008 TCC 231, (affirmed 2009 FCA 57), its meaning and application…

The UN Tax Committee is currently considering revising the UN Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries[1], particularly Article 8 (Alternative B), which relates to International Shipping and Air Transport. The proposal[2], which was released earlier this year, suggests abandoning the current fiscal framework – i.e., international air traffic income being exclusively taxed…

It has been 60 years since publication of the OECD 1963 Draft Double Taxation Convention on Income and Capital. That model has provided the core and structure of all subsequent model double tax treaties published by the OECD, the UN and some states. During this period the number of bilateral tax treaties has grown exponentially….

We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions:   Leonie Fischer, Jessica M. Müller & Christoph Spengel, The Distorting Effects of Imputation Systems on Tax Competition in the EU The design of corporate income tax systems and thus the taxation of (cross-border)…

Territorial connection (or its more fashionable name “nexus”) for tax purposes is expressed in a variety of ways in domestic and international legal instruments. Permanent establishment in article 5 of the Model treaties and “fixed base” in article 14 of the UN Model are central concepts in direct tax subject matter jurisdiction. Fixed establishment The…

G E Financial Investments Limited v HMRC [2021] UKFTT 210 (TC)  raised central aspects of the interpretation of double tax treaties. My previous blogs considered the corporate residence  under article 4(1) of the UK-US Double Tax Treaty and the existence of a permanent establishment under article 5(1) of the treaty. The First-tier Tribunal decided that…

Last month my blog discussed the questions relating to corporate residence and article 4(1) of the UK-US Double Tax Treaty raised in G E Financial Investments v HMRC  [2021] UKFTT 210 (TC). This month the focus is on the permanent establishment issues. The case concerned a complex financing structure General Electric Company group. The taxpayer,…

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…

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…

There’s something about OECD’s Pillar One. For some years now, the world has been under the spell of a new system of taxation of companies that make profits in countries without taking root there in any way. They often operate via internet platforms, which means that the profits that are generated elsewhere cannot be taxed…

The newly concluded Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the EU and UK has limited provisions concerning taxation, but interesting provisions relevant to interpretation of treaties including good faith. The Agreement does not seek to replicate many of the rights which UK citizens and businesses had under EU law. There is no general non-discrimination provision. Double…

Those with a long memory for cricketing events may remember the 1996 World Cup hosted jointly by India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The winner, Sri Lanka, made 398 runs for 5 wickets, in a one-day international match, a record that stood until April 2006. South Africa’s Gary Kirsten scored 188 runs, not out, against the…

A couple of days ago, in the last weekly session of the Indiana-Leeds Summer Tax Workshop, I attended the presentation of a fascinating paper by Steven A. Dean (A Constitutional Moment in Cross-Border Taxation)(1) where the author analyzes the political and economic predominant influence of central economies in the design and shape of post-WWI in…

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…