This book is a continuation of the prestigious series which is drawn from the papers of the biennial Cambridge Tax Law History Conference. The authors are a mix of academics and senior tax professionals from the judiciary and practice with representatives from 9 countries. The series continues to investigate current tax policy debates in an historical context. The papers fall within 3 basic categories: 1. UK and Irish tax, looking at a variety of topics such as tax administration, cases and judges (Whitney, Singer, Viscount Radcliffe), the taxation of royal forests, the taxation of spirits, and income tax transition in the Irish Free State; 2. International taxation, with chapters on the role of international organisations (OECD, League of Nations) and on South Africa's early attempts to address double taxation (tax treaties); and 3. Non-UK tax systems, including chapters on the legacy of colonial influence (Dutch East Indies), early developments in China, New Zealand, and the USA, an influential Canadian report (Carter Commission), development of the GAAR in Scandanavia, and the receipt of Roman tax law in Europe.
Klaus Vogel on Double Taxation Conventions is regarded as the international gold standard on the law of tax treaties. This article-by-article commentary has been completely revised and updated to give you a full and current account of double tax conventions (DTCs). DTCs form the backbone of international taxation, but they raise many interpretational questions. This market leading work will provide you with the answers. Based on the OECD/G20 Multilateral Instrument, the OECD MC and Commentary published in 2017 and the most recent amendments to the UN MC, the book also includes relevant case law and scholarly literature upto and including 2020. Previous editions of the Vogel have been routinely relied on by courts around the world including Australia, Canada, Germany, India, South Africa, the Netherlands and United Kingdom. What’s new in this edition? There have been many important developments in this area since the last edition in 2015. The authors discuss these developments and the effect they will have upon practitioners working in this area. They also provide a wealth of new and revised case law, along with the DTCs of emerging countries. You’ll find: Reports about major features in the DTC practice of many leading jurisdictions, such as: the DTC practice of Austria, Canada, France, Germany, India, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the UK and the US Sections on divergent country practice covering their national models and networks of bilateral DTCs Thorough analysis of the OECD and UN model, as well as the implementation of these models in practice Amendments of bilateral DTCs, textual or in substance, on the basis of the 2017 Anti-BEPS Multilateral Instrument Coverage of a full range of the latest tax treaties around the world, including important treaties between OECD and BRICS countries This new Fifth Edition of Klaus Vogel on Double Taxation Conventions continues to reflect the unchallenged role of the OECD. The OECD MC, accompanied by the official Commentary, guidelines, reports and other recommendations, has sustained its position as the most important legal instrument in the area of DTCs. On occasion, the UN MC and Commentary diverge from the OECD texts. When this happens, the authors deal with the specifics of the UN MC in separate annotations and analyses, explaining and making sure you understand the differences. How this will help you: All the information you need to confidently advise on issues such as the taxation of income, taxation of capital and the elimination of double taxation Know that your advice to clients is based on the most up-to-date and respected information available, from an outstanding team of editors and authors The editors, Professors Ekkehart Reimer and Alexander Rust, have worked with the late Professor Vogel as well as an international team of top experts to completely update and enhance the content. The writing team comprises: Editors: Prof. Dr Ekkehart Reimer, Heidelberg University and Prof. Dr Alexander Rust, WU Vienna. Authors: Johannes Becker, Federal Ministry of Finance, Berlin; Alexander Blank, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg; Katharina Blank, Federal Ministry of Finance, Berlin; Michael Blank, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Prof. Dr Luc De Broe, Catholic University of Leuven; Laga; Prof. Dr Axel Cordewener, Catholic University of Leuven and Flick Gocke Schaumburg ; Prof. Dr Ana Paula Dourado, University of Lisbon; Daniela Endres-Reich, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg; Prof. Dr Werner Haslehner, University of Luxembourg; Prof. Dr Roland Ismer, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg; Prof. Dr Eric C. C. M. Kemmeren , Tilburg University; Prof. Dr Georg Kofler, WU Vienna; Sophia Piotrowski, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg; Prof. Dr Ekkehart Reimer, Heidelberg University; Prof. Dr Alexander Rust, WU Vienna; Annika Streicher, WU Vienna; Prof. Dr. Matthias Valta, Duesseldorf University; Jens Wittendorff, Ernst & Young, Copenhagen and University of Aarhus; Kamilla Zembala, Heidelberg University
Considers the treatment of income from private employment under tax treaties containing provisions analogous or similar to Article 15 of the OECD model. This book offers an analysis of these provisions as well as suggestions for improvements in the application and interpretation. It approaches the analysis from the perspective of five countries.
Bilateral tax treaties are often, to a greater or lesser extent, based on the OECD Model Convention. Among the distributive rules with respect to taxation of income which are laid down in Chapter III of that model, Article 21 assigns the tax jurisdiction in respect of "other income" - understood to mean items of income which are not dealt with in other provisions of the tax treaty - to the residence state in accordance with the main rule underlying the OECD Model, thus ensuring that no income falls outside the scope of the treaty. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of Article 21 of the OECD Model. In extensive detail, and with reference to case law from a number of jurisdictions and to statements of various authorities and official documents, the author shows how Article 21 operates in relation to the other distributive rules of the OECD Model and bilateral tax treaties based thereon. The analysis considers such items of income as the following in relation to Article 21: - income from immovable property; - business profits; - profits from shipping, inland waterways transport, and air transport; - dividends, interest, and royalties; - capital gains; and - income from employment. In addition, the author examines the significance of the OECD Commentaries for the interpretation of tax treaties, the "other income" article in other model conventions, and notable deviations from Article 21 among bilateral tax treaties. An appendix offers well-grounded recommendations on how to potentially amend the wording of Article 21 and the related commentary and how the application of the article can be improved. Although underexposed in the tax law literature heretofore, the "other income" article raises important international taxation issues that remain problematic or unresolved. Tax lawyers, government officials, and other interested professionals will find here a penetrating analysis that goes a long way towards clarifying the characterisation of income that resists the standard categories defined in tax treaties.
"The substantive scope of a tax treaty determines the extent of protection it can provide against international double taxation. Countries worldwide have adopted the text of Art. 2 ('Taxes covered') of the OECD Model Tax Conventions in their bilateral tax treaties. However, the structure and wording of Art. 2, which have remained virtually unchanged since the beginnings of tax treaty law in the 1920s, create interpetive issues and uncertainties in practical treaty application. This book not only provides in-depth analysis of recent case law and academic literature, but also sheds light on the background to the standard formulations so widely used in the provision on the substantive scope of today's tax treaties. The source documents used have rarely found their way into publications before: historical OEEC and OECD Reports and Minutes, originally largely classified as 'restricted' and thus inaccessible to the public for decades, provide an insight into the drafting process of Art. 2 and the discussions of Delegates from various nations on practical implications for treaty application. The book offers a unique perspective on this core treaty provision and aims to provide guidance for determing the 'taxes covered' in any tax treaty"--Page 4 of cover.
Detailed research on the UN Model Convention’s unique features The UN Model Convention has a significant influence on international tax treaty practice and is especially used by emerging and developing countries as a starting point for treaty negotiations. Driven by the aim to achieve consistency in the international tax treaty practice, the structure and content is, to a large extent, similar in the UN Model and the OECD Model. However, whereas the OECD has historically focused its efforts on issues mainly relevant for developed countries, the UN Tax Committee has continuously attempted to specifically take into account tax treaty policies for developing countries when drafting and amending the UN Model Convention. Compared to the OECD Model Convention, the UN Model Convention aims at giving more weight to the source principle. Popular examples are the PE definition in the UN Model which provides for a lower threshold than Article 5 of the OECD Model or Article 12A on Fees for Technical Services which has been introduced with the latest amendment of the UN Model Convention 2017 and allows for a withholding tax to be levied on payments to non-residents when the payer of the fee is a resident of that contracting State irrespective of where the services are provided. Interestingly, in the discussions of the tax challenges arising from the digitalization of the economy, the OECD and the G20 are also exploring options to allocate more taxing rights to the jurisdiction of the customer and/or user, i.e., the ‘market jurisdictions’. As this has traditionally been the focus of the UN Model Convention, its unique features and developing countries’ practices could be taken into account when exploring new nexus rules that are not constrained by the physical presence requirement. This book contains the master’s theses of the full-time LL.M. program 2018-2019 for which ‘Special Features of the UN Model Convention’ has been chosen as the general topic. With this book, the authors and editors do not aim at discussing each article of the UN Model Convention but rather focus on the unique features of the UN Model Convention, which are explored in detail. This is supplemented with an evaluation of the function and relevance of the UN Tax Committee in the international tax policy discussion and with an analysis of the influences of the OECD's BEPS project on the UN Model.
