Double Taxation

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)/ /1 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…

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…

BEPS, Double Taxation, Transfer Pricing

(University of Sao Paulo; Lacaz Martins, Pereira Neto, Gurevich & Schoueri Advogados)/ /Leave a comment

It is common to face resistance in MAP application, which is essentially based on misconception of Double Taxation Conventions (DTCs). As Article 9(1) establishes the arm’s length standard, which presents a range of possible prices, that misunderstanding may imply more economic double taxation. Given the Brazilian position on recent transfer pricing changes, these problems become…

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…

Double Taxation, International Tax Law, OECD, Permanent Establishments, Tax Planning, Tax Treaties

(Tax Lawyer)/ /1 Comment

Can an Indian subsidiary be said to be the permanent establishment of its overseas parent on the ground that it is a virtual projection of the latter even if the tests explicitly stipulated in the permanent establishment Article of a tax treaty are not met? This was one of the main questions that recently came…

Double Taxation, International Tax Law, OECD, Permanent Establishments, Tax Avoidance, Tax Policy, Tax Treaties

(Tax Lawyer)/ /Leave a comment

On July 13, 2018, India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) issued for stakeholders’ comments a consultation document on framing of tax rules in respect of the concept of “significant economic presence” – a recent addition to the Indian Income Tax jurisprudence. Readers will recollect that India’s 2018 Budget proposed to amend the definition of…

BEPS, Digitalization, Double Taxation, EU/EEA, Value Creation

(Rio de Janeiro State University, Sergio André Rocha Advocacia & Consultoria Tributária)/ /Leave a comment

For many years, I have been advocating a drastic change in the distribution approach for taxing rights in international taxation. The focus of my criticism has been Article 7 of the OECD and UN Model Conventions.  My core argument continues to be that the so-called “permanent establishment principle” disregards the role of the infrastructure that…

BEPS, Double Taxation, OECD, Permanent Establishments, Tax Treaties

(Tax Lawyer)/ /1 Comment

The importance of the permanent establishment (PE) principle in tax treaties cannot be undermined. Whether or not a source country has the right to tax business profits of a foreign company would depend wholly on the existence or non-existence of a PE of that company in the source country. Work undertaken by the OECD in…

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…

Double Taxation, EU/EEA, OECD, Tax Treaties, Transfer Pricing

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

Increased focus on taxation of cross-border situations involving both individuals and companies is one of the key features of the post-BEPS international tax environment. One central aspect of this is increased administrative cooperation between tax administrations in exchange of information and assistance in recovery of taxes. Territoriality principle Recent UK decisions have emphasised the need…

BEPS, Double Taxation, MLI, OECD, Residence, Tax Avoidance, Tax Policy, Tax Treaties

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

Non-inclusion of the Swiss-United Kingdom income tax treaty in the list of Covered Tax Agreements of both the states on signing the BEPS MLI on 7 June 2017 surprised some observers. This evident gap between two OECD member countries was quickly filled by a protocol to the Swiss-United Kingdom treaty concluded on 30 November 2017….

BEPS, Double Taxation, Intangibles, OECD, Tax Avoidance, Tax Policy, Tax Treaties, Transfer Pricing, Withholding Taxes

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

Taxation of the digital economy featured in discussion on the implementation of the OECD/G20 BEPS action items at the annual conference of the Canadian Tax Foundation in Toronto on 21 November 2017. Several speakers note that no generally accepted solution had been found to address the impact of the digitalisation of the global economy on…

Arbitration, BEPS, Double Taxation, EU/EEA, MAPs and APAs, MLI, OECD, Tax Treaties, Transfer Pricing

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

Adoption of the EU Council Directive on Tax Dispute Resolution Mechanisms in the European Union on 10 October 2017 is a milestone in international tax dispute resolution. The Directive offers a uniform mechanism to address tax treaty disputes among EU member states that meets the BEPS Action 14 minimum standard, and largely renders the arbitration…

Arbitration, Double Taxation, EU/EEA

(KPMG Meijburg & Co)/ /Leave a comment

On 12 September 2017, the CJEU confirmed that it has jurisdiction over a dispute between Austria and Germany regarding the interpretation of a double tax convention entered into between the two Member States under article 273 TFEU.[1]CJEU 12 September 2017, case number C-648/15, Opinion delivered by Advocate-General Mengozzi on 27 April 2017. The case was…