The OECD’s BEPS 2.0 project is currently navigating turbulent waters partly because of the unexpected Covid19 crisis and its impact on state budgets and the need for additional revenues, and partly because of internal tensions and conflicts within OECD dominant group of industrialized countries, the 140-member-state inclusive framework, and the business community. Disagreements include (but…
We have all become familiar with the expression in the PPT set out in article 7(1) of the MLI and article 29(9) of the 2017 OECD Model where “obtaining that benefit was one of the principal purposes of any arrangement or transaction”. Discerning which is a principal purpose is one of the main challenges in…
Purpose of the blog The purpose of the blog, which is slightly futuristic, is to discuss whether countries will still compete with one another to attract activities in their jurisdiction post-Pillar II implementation. State sovereignty and Tax Competition A sine qua non condition for the existence of international tax competition is the opportunity to transfer capital…
I am currently working on a case that involves questions of huge significance when it comes to related-party transactions and customs valuation. It is always good to begin with a caveat and I have two. The first is that the import in question pertains to the years 2002-2006, when the Indian custom valuation rules were…
With a judgment rendered on 16 December 2019 (case no. 2C_209/2017), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (“FSC”) rejected several reclaims of Swiss dividend withholding taxes made by a Luxembourg resident financial institution (“Lux Bank”) and thereby denied the claimant the benefits of the double taxation treaty between Switzerland and Luxembourg on income and capital taxes…
The OECD recently issued a paper called: “Resumption of application of substantial activities for no or nominal tax jurisdictions”, which is a quite elaborate way of saying that the OECD going forward will require substance in low or no tax jurisdictions. Their stated reason is “leveling the playing field” between low or no tax jurisdictions…
Tax Issue Under Review On 6 February 2020 (case no. 2C_510/2018), the Swiss Federal Supreme Court rendered a decision on the tax qualification of a pension plan benefit paid from a Swiss pension plan to an individual resident in Thailand, for the purposes of Swiss federal and cantonal withholding taxes on pension benefits paid to…
Many States have incorporated General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAARs) into their tax laws to prevent tax avoidance; within the EU, a GAAR is even mandatory for corporate taxation since 1 January 2019 (Article 6 of the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (EU ATAD)). States are recommended in the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and Capital to…
In the 1980s, a new dimension to profit shifting was introduced in the United States through the establishment of Onshore Offshore Banks. New legislation (called the International Banking Facility (IBF)) allowed banks in the US to maintain two separate sets of accounts. One set capturing all transactions with residents of USA which would be subject…
It is widely accepted that the United States of America is one of the most litigious countries on earth. As of 2010, US residents spent about 2.2% of their GDP (approximately 310 Billion Dollars) annually on litigation costs[1]. There are more lawyers per capita in the United States that any other country in the world….
In my last blog, I looked at the immediate impact of Covid 19 Lockdowns on key elements of double tax treaties – residence, permanent establishment and employment income. Many tax administrations have published guidance on their approach to these issues. Indeed, almost immediately after the OECD also published helpful comment on them too. The general…
We are happy to inform you that the latest issue of the journal is now available and includes, among others, the following contributions: An editorial, Taxes and Regulation, by Alice Pirlot and myself, critically analysing the role of regulatory taxes, with reference to the articles published in this special issue. Johanna Hey, Effectiveness of Regulatory…
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to unprecedented times for the world. Many countries, including India, most of Western Europe and some states of the US have now imposed mandatory lockdowns, in addition to restricting international travel in order to reduce the number of cases, “flatten the curve” and avoid overburdening the healthcare infrastructure. These lockdowns,…
Measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus have impacted on every aspect of life. While the degree of enforced isolation and immobility varies from country to country, the basic elements remain the same: Most people are compelled to stay at home and to work from there if possible. The speed with which the pandemic has…
