Based on the findings of a commission chaired by James Mirrlees, this volume presents a coherent picture of tax reform whose aim is to identify the characteristics of a good tax system for any open developed economy, assess the extent to which the UK tax system conforms to these ideals, and recommend how it might be reformed in that direction.
This is the first book to present a sustained analysis and critique of arm's length based transfer pricing rules following the G20 / OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The book considers the nature and scope of transfer pricing rules based on the arm's length principle starting with an explanation of how the rules were created and and how they evolved over time. It provides how internationally accepted transfer pricing rules were applied immediately prior to the BEPS project, and describes the principal problems that had arisen with those rules. The issues highlighted include problems relating to the complexity of the rules, the use and availability of comparables, and, in particular, problems permitting avoidance and income shifting, including problems related to low tax entities with 'excessive capital'. Having described the pre-BEPS rules and inherent problems, the book goes on to examine the extent to which the work undertaken by the BEPs project provides a solid foundation for future transfer pricing determinations and the problems that remain after BEPS. It identifies those issues on which the BEPS output has been positive, and also those issues which BEPS has not successfully addressed and which remain problematic. This book is the most detailed and up-to-date publication on this highly topical and often controversial topic.
Time is a crucial dimension in the application of any law. In tax law, however, where an environment characterized by rapid change on the national, European, and international levels complicates the provision of accurate legal advice, timing is particularly sensitive. This book is the first to analyse the relationship between time and three key areas of tax: treaties, EU law, and constitutional law issues, such as legal certainty and individual rights. Among the numerous timing issues arising out of applying tax rules, the book addresses the following: – time limits within which relief must be requested; – statutes of limitation for claiming a tax refund; – transitional issues relating to changes in tax treaties; – attribution of profits and expenses to a moving or closed-down business; – effect of tax-related CJEU decisions and EU directives; – compliance of exit tax regimes with free movement; – limits of retroactivity under principles protected by the EU Charter and the ECHR; and – conflict between efficiency of taxation and individual rights. Derived from a recent conference organized by the prestigious ATOZ Chair for European and International Taxation at the University of Luxembourg, the book brings together contributions from leading tax experts from various areas of tax practice, academia, and the judiciary. Among other issues, the book notably expands on how economic theory can inform a constitutional analysis of the timing of taxation. There is no other work that concentrates so usefully on the difficulties associated with applying tax rules – whether arising from treaties, jurisprudence, or policy – to changing circumstances over time. This book will quickly prove itself to be an indispensable resource for European tax lawyers, policymakers, company counsels, and academics.
An engaging and enlightening account of taxation told through lively, dramatic, and sometimes ludicrous stories drawn from around the world and across the ages Governments have always struggled to tax in ways that are effective and tolerably fair. Sometimes they fail grotesquely, as when, in 1898, the British ignited a rebellion in Sierra Leone by imposing a tax on huts—and, in repressing it, ended up burning the very huts they intended to tax. Sometimes they succeed astonishingly, as when, in eighteenth-century Britain, a cut in the tax on tea massively increased revenue. In this entertaining book, two leading authorities on taxation, Michael Keen and Joel Slemrod, provide a fascinating and informative tour through these and many other episodes in tax history, both preposterous and dramatic—from the plundering described by Herodotus and an Incan tax payable in lice to the (misremembered) Boston Tea Party and the scandals of the Panama Papers. Along the way, readers meet a colorful cast of tax rascals, and even a few tax heroes. While it is hard to fathom the inspiration behind such taxes as one on ships that tended to make them sink, Keen and Slemrod show that yesterday’s tax systems have more in common with ours than we may think. Georgian England’s window tax now seems quaint, but was an ingenious way of judging wealth unobtrusively. And Tsar Peter the Great’s tax on beards aimed to induce the nobility to shave, much like today’s carbon taxes aim to slow global warming. Rebellion, Rascals, and Revenue is a surprising and one-of-a-kind account of how history illuminates the perennial challenges and timeless principles of taxation—and how the past holds clues to solving the tax problems of today.
Modern-day tax treaties have their foundations in one of the three Model Tax Treaties developed by the League of Nations in 1928. Using previously unexplored archival material, Sunita Jogarajan provides the first in-depth examination of the development of the League's Models. This new research provides insights into questions such as the importance of double taxation versus tax evasion; the preference for source-taxation versus residence-taxation; the influence of theory and practice on the League's work; the development of bilateral rather than multilateral treaties; the influence of developing countries on the League's work; the role of Commentary in interpreting model tax treaties; and the influential factors and key individuals involved. A better understanding of the development of the original models will inform and help guide interpretation and reform of modern-day tax treaties. Additionally, this book will be of interest to scholars of international relations and the development of law at international organisations.
How does EU law affect Member State corporate tax systems and the cross-border activities of companies? This unique study traces the historical development of EU corporate tax law and provides an in-depth analysis of a number of issues affecting companies, groups of companies and permanent establishments. Existing legislation, soft-law and the case-law of the Court of Justice are examined. The proposed CCCTB Directive and its potential application through enhanced co-operation are also considered. In addition to the tax issues pertaining to direct investment, the author examines the taxation of passive investment income, corporate reorganisations, exit taxes and the restrictive effect of domestic anti-abuse regimes. By doing so, the convergences and divergences arising from the interplay of EU corporate tax law and international tax law, especially the OECD model, are uncovered and highlighted.
Simplicity in taxation has considerable potential advantages. However, attempts to simplify tax systems are only likely to be successful and enduring if they take account of the reasons why taxation is complex. There are strong pressures on tax systems to accommodate a range of important factors, as well as complex and changing national and international environments within which modern tax systems have to operate. This book explores the experiences of simplification in a range of countries and jurisdictions. The authors analyse a range of manifestations of simplification, including tax systems, tax law, taxpayer communications and tax administration. They also review the longer term or more fundamental approaches to simplification, suggesting that in order to strike the optimum balance between simplicity and the aims of a tax system in terms of efficiency and equity, a range of complex environmental factors must all be taken into account. With chapters reflecting on experiences from Australia, China, Canada, Malaysia, New Zealand, Russia, South Africa, Thailand, Turkey, the UK and the US, the authors illustrate differences between jurisdictions and the changing environment in which they operate. This book addresses the crucial balance between simplicity and the other objectives of tax design and reform, and suggests that reformers of the tax system should include simplicity as one of the key evaluators of any design or reform proposal.
'A brief but crucially important book' Marcus Chown In The Joy of Tax, tax campaigner Richard Murphy challenges almost every idea you have about tax. For him, tax is fundamentally about the ideas that shape the sort of society we want to live in, not technicalities. His intention is to demonstrate that there is indeed a joy in tax, and by embracing it we can create a fairer society and change the world for the better. Tax has been a feature of human society for a very long time. Almost no one gives tax a good press even though, as Richard Murphy argues, it has been fundamental to the development of democracy the world over. Whilst we may not like tax very much, in contrast it is clear that we really do like the public services which governments provide. So much so, in fact, that for most of the last 300 years, people have been more than happy for governments to run deficits by spending more than they raise in taxation. 2008 apparently changed all that. The issues of debt, deficits, cuts and austerity have dominated the political agenda ever since. Virtually every aspect of the government's finances and how to rearrange them in the forlorn hope of balancing the books has been discussed in great detail. Despite that, there has been almost no real discussion during this period about what tax is for and how it contributes to the creation of the society we aspire to.
This book provides a thorough review of early English land taxes of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It is a polemical work which is critical of the institutional English state narratives including Brewer’s ‘Sinews of Power’ and North and Weingast’s ‘credible commitment’ and some established works in the field particularly Ward’s ‘The English Land Tax in the Eighteenth-Century’ which is subject to a highly detailed critique. The book proposes that although this was a time of tension, with an English population divided by political and religious affiliations, unprecedented amounts of taxation were still collected. This was achieved by ceding immediate process ownership to local governors whilst arming them with clear success criteria, well-designed processes and innovative legislation targeted on a growing and commercialized economy. An important development was the state’s increasing ability to coordinate tax-gathering activities across the country. This book will be of interest to financial historians, academics, and researchers.
Tax Implications of Brexit is an essential guide for anyone advising businesses trading in either the United Kingdom or the European Union post-Brexit. In two parts, this title provides an in-depth analysis of the tax ramifications of Brexit in both the United Kingdom and EU Member States, helping to identify immediate and future issues that could be faced post-Brexit, and how to mitigate any risks. Part One features subject-specific chapters which deal with the UK statutory regime after 2020 as well as the impact of Brexit on VAT, customs and excise duties and State Aid legislation. Part Two is split into country chapters dealing with the tax implications in the single jurisdictions (the United Kingdom and EU Member States) for cross-border investments between the United Kingdom and the EU and for UK-EU cross-border reorganisations. This book is essential reading for tax professionals advising businesses trading in the United Kingdom or in the European Union, but also tax managers of those businesses. Tax Implications of Brexit includes contributions from Barbara Belgrano, Conor Quigley QC, Julian Ghosh QC, Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho, Nicola Saccardo, Roderick Cordara QC, Timothy Lyons QC and a plethora of highly respected tax experts from EU jurisdictions.