Tax Treaties

Treaties dealing with the division of taxing rights between states.

BEPS, Digitalization, Equalization levy, India, International Tax Law, MNE Profits, OECD, Permanent Establishments, Tax Avoidance, Tax Policy, Tax Treaties, Uncategorized, United Nations

(Advocate)/ /Leave a comment

Globally, countries are making a concerted effort to rein in the direct tax challenges posed by the digital economy. Some of this work is directly inspired by the recommendations set out by the OECD as part of its 15-point Action Plan to tackle base erosion and profit shifting. The Indian government, too, introduced two key…

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, India, MLI, Tax Treaties

(Tax Lawyer)/ /Leave a comment

Earlier this month, the author of this blog was at the IFA UK branch meeting where experts assembled to discuss certain interpretational aspects concerning the BEPS Multilateral Instrument (BEPS MLI) from a UK perspective. Most of these issues would have relevance in other jurisdictions too (including India) as more and more countries ratify the BEPS…

Fees for technical services, India, Royalties, Tax Treaties

(Nirma University)/ /1 Comment

The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as the “Tribunal”), Mumbai delivered a landmark judgment in the case involving two parties namely, Elsevier Information Systems Gmbh and Dy. Commissioner of Income Tax. Recently, the Tribunal held that the subscription fees charged by the taxpayer for access to an online database is in the nature…

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…

Digitalization, Employment, Residence, Tax Policy, Tax Treaties

(University of Belgrade, Faculty of Law)/ /Leave a comment

The quest to align the international tax order with the challenges posed by the digital economy has so far mostly focused on solving issues involving incorporated structures. What is somehow escaping the attention of the tax treaty policymakers is the fact that it is not only in the domain of companies that we have lost…

Double Taxation, MAPs and APAs, OECD, Tax Treaties, Transfer Pricing

(Tax Policy Division, Ministry of Finance, India) and (Tax Policy Center of the University of Lausanne, Switzerland)/ /Leave a comment

Corresponding adjustments and the MAP process When the price charged for goods or services sold between related parties is not in accordance with the arm’s length principle, Article 9(1) of the OECD Model authorizes the tax authorities of a State to make primary adjustments to the transfer price. This may trigger economic double taxation as…

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…

EU/EEA, Tax Policy, Tax Treaties, Transfer Pricing

(Wolters Kluwer, Legal & Regulatory, International Group)/ /Leave a comment

We are glad to announce that the editorial team of the Kluwer Tax Law Blog has been strengthened with the appointment of Dr. Vikram Chand (Tax Policy Center, University of Lausanne, Switzerland) as the Managing Editor of the Blog. Dr. Chand currently has a strong interest in International Tax Policy, Transfer Pricing, Tax Treaty and…

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…

Tax Treaties

(Partner Cuatrecasas Madrid) and (Tax Associate Cuatrecasas)/ /2 Comments

The classic issue of dynamic versus static interpretation of tax treaties arises again. Not only is this a hot topic in the international tax arena, but it is also a permanent pain in the Spanish Supreme Court’s neck since its judgment on the Julio Iglesias case of June 11, 2008 (available here). In that case,…