The concept of “digital nomadism” has emerged in popular literature some 25 years ago, in a thought-provoking and prescient book co-authored by Tsugio Makimoto and David Manners.[1] Put simply, the notion has been that various technological advances will make it possible for large swathes of people to discard traditional norms of work and employment, becoming…
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…
Trésor-Gauthier M. Kalonji [1] Summary The Covid-19 pandemic has shaken several rules applicable in conventional tax law, in particular with regard to determining the conditions for qualifying a “building site or construction or installation project” as a permanent establishment (hereafter “PE”), as defined by the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital (hereafter…
Abridged comments for a regional appraisal and possible outcomes to implementation 2010-2020: A Decade of Profound Changes in International Taxation Following the world financial crisis, the industrialized countries were deeply dissatisfied with revenue collection levels. In that context, which extended to the first years of the last decade, the political dialectic of the time left…
1 AI and XAI in tax law [1][2] Artificial intelligence (AI) systems are becoming increasingly central in the global economy. According to PWC estimates, they may provide boosts of up to 26% to local economies, which could lead to an increase of USD 15.7 trillion to global GDP. They are also gaining relevance in the context…
Introduction: some uneasy questions Taxation is at the core of the UN 2030 Agenda since it is an essential element to build a more equal, as well as more prosperous, society and provides the “fuel” needed to realize all the ambitious plans required to decrease our impact on the environment.[1] Therefore, good tax governance is…
A new carbon pricing instrument In autumn 2021, the Austrian government presented its long announced eco-social tax reform as part of its climate strategy to minimize the Austrian greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040. The Austrian Ecological Tax Reform Act contains a variety of climate and compensatory measures for citizens and companies. A…
When India’s Finance Minister rose before the Lok Sabha (House of Commons) on 1st Feb, 2022 to present her budget for India’s fiscal year 2022-23 (April 1, 2022 to March 31, 2023), she compressed the 284 page budget document into a crisp 90-minute speech, a part of which highlighted how India’s proposed budgetary tax measures…
From 1 January 2021, a new EU own resource based on non-recycled plastic packaging has been introduced by a new Own Resources Decision adopted by Council Decision 2053/2020. It is a national contribution from Member States proportional to the quantity of ‘plastic packaging waste’ that is not recycled.[1] This new measure gives rise to many…
After more than 40 years, in December 2020, Italy and Switzerland signed a new agreement concerning cross-border workers. This update, part of a joint political commitment dated 2015, arrived precisely at the right time. Indeed, the pre-existent, and still in force, 1974 Swiss-Italian Agreement showed all its inconsistencies during 2020 when inappropriate rules had to…
We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes the following contributions: Han Kogels, Good Intentions and a Call for Higher Speed on the Bumpy Road to Carbon Neutrality Last year, around this time, the author went into some policy measures proposed by the United…
The most recent UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, or COP26, attracted the attention of long-term investors. The reason for that was the announcement of the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation Trustees concerning the creation of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).[1] The initiative aims to address one of the complaints brought up by many…
by Dr Florian S. Zawodsky and André Thoß, LL.M., EY National Office Tax Germany The use of crypto coins and tokens is on the rise. With the perception of constant and unrestrained gains in value reaching all-time highs, most national and subnational tax laws dramatically lag behind this astonishing bull run. Simple crypto coins are…
Prof.dr. M.F. (Maarten) de Wilde[1] Summary On 20 December 2021, the OECD published the announced Pillar Two Model Rules, as part of the envisaged establishment of a global 15% minimum level of company taxation for large multinationals (Pillar 2). No mechanism has been considered to provide for a parallel adaptation of countries’ tax treaty networks…
