Climate change and the use of natural resources present us all with a major challenge. We all have our part in it and we can all contribute to ensure that we do not live at the expense of future generations. Various reports and goals were agreed upon internationally (e.g. Brundtland Report and Sustainable Development Goals)….
We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Rachna Matabudul, The Multilateral Instrument in Africa: A Strategic Analysis The Multilateral Instrument (MLI) was launched under Action 15 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project in November 2016 under the joint…
“Oh, I was so happy when I was told you were in the panel!” It is always nice that someone is pleased with your presence, but this surprised me a bit. The OECD employee who made this confession had only just met me in the taxi that would bring us to the conference. Seeing my…
The very recent CJEU judgement in Berlin Chemie A. Menarini v Administraţia Fiscală pentru Contribuabili Mijlocii Bucureşti (Case C-333/20) ECLI:EU:C:2022:291, admirably examined by Giorgio Beretta last week considered the circumstances in which a subsidiary might be a VAT fixed establishment (FE) of its parent company or another affiliate. A Romanian company supplied advertising, marketing and…
English may be the lingua franca of our time, but it is not the only language of international law. Royal Bank of Canada v HMRC [2022] UKUT 45 (TCC). raised issues around the interpretation of a tax treaty concluded in English and French, both languages being equally authentic. The complex facts are summarised at https://kluwertaxblog.com/2020/07/29/income-from-immoveable-property-article-6-and-royalty-streams/….
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…
The right to be free from discrimination is perhaps the single most important human right as indicated by the fact that it appears as the first article in the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” In the field of international taxation, article 24…
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…
HMRC v Embiricos [2020] UKUT 370 (TC) reflects a common issue that arises in connection with tax investigations or audits of internationally mobile individuals. Mr Embiricos filed his tax returns on the basis that he was resident, but not domiciled in the UK. On that basis, he was entitled to the remittance basis of taxation….
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…
When the UK introduced its diverted profits tax, I was telephoned by a lawyer at the US Treasury. He wanted to know whether the “just and reasonable” apportionment of profits, in certain circumstances where DPT applied, was a new development? What did it mean? I was reminded of that discussion this week as a result…
