Interpretation of Tax Treaties under International Law


Book Description

This publication considers the interpretation of tax treaties primarily from the standpoint of public international law. The principal purpose of this study is to analyse and discuss the rules and principles of international law relevant to the interpretation of treaties in general, and their application to tax treaties in particular. The rules of international law enshrined in articles 31, 32 and 33 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties are therefore central to this study. Where appropriate, reference is made to the jurisprudence of the International Court of Justice, and to the law and procedure of other international court and tribunals. Considers also the extent to which the relevant rules and principles of international law are binding on domestic court and taxpayers. The importance of international law for the purpose of the interpretation of tax treaties is illustrated by a number of leading cases decided by the Dutch Supreme Court (Hoge Raad).




Interpretation and Application of Tax Treaties in North America


Book Description

This book presents an overview of the materials, court cases and mutual agreement procedures implemented in Canada, USA and Mexcio. In addition, it provides a background to the development of tax treaty law and the information necessary to interpret a tax treaty based upon the principles codified in the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties. Contents: the background of the early model tax conventions; the development of tax treaty law; the specific materials from Canada, the United States and Mexico; proposal for a trilateral tax treaty for North America to provide full relief from the harmful barriers against free movement of capital and services.




Tax Treaty Interpretation


Book Description

Detailed survey of tax treaty interpretations in 16 European countries taking into account court decisions since 1993, the OECD reports on partnership, changes in administrative practice at national level and recent Community law effecting taxation and tax practice.




Tax Treaty Interpretation


Book Description

This study clarifies the meaning and application of Article 3(2) of the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital. It maps the entire historical debate on the provision, illuminates flawed assumptions and misunderstandings in its course, and outlines how these continue to fuel the current controversies. In addition, it provides a comprehensive analysis of German case law concerning the interpretation of tax treaties and examines the extent to which the German Federal Fiscal Court has been influenced by views developed in doctrine. Finally, it clarifies the relationship between Article 3(2) and the rules on treaty interpretation codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, the meaning of 'context', and how the condition 'unless the context otherwise requires' is to be applied. Thereby, an approach is submitted that is firmly based on public international law principles and transcends the current controversies into a holistic synthesis.




Schwarz on Tax Treaties


Book Description

Schwarz on Tax Treaties is the definitive analysis of tax treaties from United Kingdom and Irish perspectives and provides in-depth expert analysis of the interpretation and interaction of those treaty networks with the European Union and international law. The sixth edition significantly develops the earlier work with enhanced commentary and is updated to include the latest UK, Irish domestic and treaty developments, international and EU law, including: Covered Tax Agreements modified by the BEPS Multilateral Instrument; judicial decisions of Ireland, the UK and foreign courts on UK and Irish treaties; Digital Services Tax; treaty binding compulsory arbitration; Brexit and the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement; taxpayer rights in exchange of information; taxpayer rights in EU cross-border collection of taxes; attribution of profits to permanent establishments; and EU DAC 6 Disclosure of cross-border planning. Case law developments including: UK Supreme Court in Fowler v HMRC; Indian Supreme Court in Engineering Analysis Centre of Excellence Private Limited and Others v CIT; Australian Full Federal Court in Addy v CoT; French Supreme Administrative Court in Valueclick; English Court of Appeal in Irish Bank Resolution Corporation v HMRC; JJ Management and others v HMRC; United States Tax Court in Adams Challenge v CIR; UK Tax Tribunals in Royal Bank of Canada v HMRC; Lloyd-Webber v HMRC; Esso Exploration and Production v HMRC; Glencore v HMRC; McCabe v HMRC; Padfield v HMRC; Davies v HMRC; Uddin v HMRC; English High Court in Minera Las Bambas v Glencore; Kotton v First Tier Tribunal; and CJEU in N Luxembourg I, and others (the ‘Danish beneficial ownership cases’); État belge v Pantochim; College Pension Plan of British Columbia v Finanzamt München; HB v Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale. About the Author Jonathan Schwarz BA, LLB (Witwatersrand), LLM (UC Berkeley), FTII is an English Barrister at Temple Tax Chambers in London and is also a South African Advocate and a Canadian and Irish Barrister. His practice focuses on international tax disputes as counsel and as an expert and advises on solving cross-border tax problems. He is a Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Law, King’s College London University. He has been listed as a leading tax Barrister in both the Legal 500, for international corporate tax, and Chambers’ Guide to the Legal Profession, for international transactions and particular expertise in transfer pricing. He has been lauded in Who’s Who Legal, UK Bar for his ‘brilliant’ handling of cross-border tax problems. In Chambers Guide, he is identified as ‘the double tax guru’ with ‘extraordinary depth of knowledge and experience when it comes to tax treaty issues and is a creative thinker and a clear and meticulous writer’.




Judicial Interpretation of Tax Treaties


Book Description

Judicial Interpretation of Tax Treaties is a detailed analytical guide to the interpretation of tax treaties at the national level. The book focuses on how domestic courts interpret and apply the OECD Commentary to OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital. Adopting a global perspective, the book gives a systematic presentation of the main interpretive proposals put forward by the OECD Commentary, and analyses selected cases decided in domestic tax systems in order to assess whether and how such solutions are adopted through national judicial process, and indeed which of these are of most practical value. The book operates on two levels: firstly it sets out a clear and comprehensive framework of tax treaty law, which will be an important tool for any tax practitioner. Secondly, the book provides crucial guidance on issues of tax treaty law as applied at domestic level, such as investment or business income, dispute resolution and administrative cooperation.




Courts and Tax Treaty Law


Book Description

A detailed and comprehensive study of the issues faced by judiciaries when dealing with tax treaty law cases. It begins with an overview of some of the questions that domestic courts have to deal with when facing treaty cases. It then provides a comparative look into the structure of tax judiciaries and the issues raised by the burden of proof in cases dealing with the application of tax treaties. The different approaches of judiciaries of common law and civil law countries are also taken into consideration. A particular focus is devoted to the interaction between European law principles and bilateral tax treaties, both from the point of view of national judges and the Court of Justice of the European Communities, as well as the relevance of foreign court decision in interpreting tax treaties and the twofold influence between decisions issued by national courts and the Commentaries to the OECD Model Tax Convention. Individual country surveys provide an in-depth analysis on how national courts face cases dealing with the application of tax treaties, with a particular emphasis on issues raised by tax treaty interpretation. Lastly, the book deals with issues raised by judicial treaty override, proposes solutions to resolve judicial errors in the context of international tax law and analyses the procedural conditions for the implementation of tax treaty obligations under domestic law.




Multilingual Texts and Interpretation of Tax Treaties and EC Tax Law


Book Description

The book identifies linguistic issues arising in bilateral income tax conventions and presents an in-dept analysis of tax treaty policies on multilingualism and the administrative practice and case law on the issues raised by the translation of treaties. Individual country surveys discuss the use of legal concepts, including those that do not exist in the legal system of one of the two contracting states and the way such concepts should be interpreted in such state (e.g. trust). Further, the use of concepts in one state that are similar but not identical to a treaty concept that is well known only in the other state (e.g. droit d'auteur vs copyright) are presented. The book also includes special reports on multilingual issues under both art. 33 of the Vienna Convention and art. 3(2) of the OECD Model Convention and Commentaries. Finally, a specific chapter is devoted to the EU law aspects and a review of the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice (ECJ).




U.S. Tax Treaties


Book Description




The Interpretation of Plurilingual Tax Treaties


Book Description

RICHARD X. RESCH THE INTERPRETATION OF PLURILINGUAL TAX TREATIES Based on an analysis of 3,844 tax treaties, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and its Commentaries (VCLT), and case law of various domestic and international courts. The current orthodoxy maintains that courts are not required to compare all language texts of a plurilingual treaty but may rely on a single one for cases of routine interpretation. This view is erroneous, in violation of the VCLT, and the source of treaty misapplication; taxpayers are ill-advised to pay attention only to the text in their own language. In daily practice, the issue is of great relevance: almost three-quarters of the well over 3,000 concluded tax treaties are plurilingual. The BEPS MLI escalates complexity because it modifies a large number of treaties having texts in various languages. This study aims to (1) help diminish treaty misapplication through abandonment of the current orthodoxy, (2) show that sole reliance on prevailing texts is available as a pragmatic alternative in line with the VCLT, and (3) provide policy recommendations how residual cases may be eliminated. To support these goals, this study seeks to provide conclusive arguments and useful data to policy makers, treaty negotiators, judges, practitioners, and scholars. Its analysis of all tax treaty final clauses is intended to help both taxpayers and courts interpreting tax treaties in practice. The general arguments presented in this book are however not limited to tax treaties, since similar issues play a role in the interpretation of other treaties, for example, in the field of foreign investment regulation.