Tax Treaty Residence Of Entities

It is of great importance to be able to determine who or what is considered ‘resident’ within the meaning of tax treaty provisions. However, the concept of residence has never been fundamentally adjusted to current circumstances in which technological developments make it possible for corporations to explore the wide gap between their actual business operations and the ‘legalistic’ requirements for corporate residence. In this study of the OECD Model Tax Convention – the basis for most tax treaties – the author develops a clear understanding of the content of the residence concept as regards entities and proposes solutions to current problems, finishing with his own thoroughgoing definition. In seeking a definition of the term ‘resident’ that covers all uses in treaties, the analysis draws on, in addition to the current and earlier iterations of the OECD Model Law itself, such elements as the following: domestic law meaning of residence in the tax law of France, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and the United States; Articles 31 and 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties; historical documents that uncover the ordinary meaning of treaty terms; tax treaty case law and court decisions; and fiscal, tax and legal scholarship surrounding the concept of residence for taxation purposes. The analysis includes a comprehensive description of tiebreaker rules, various perspectives on ‘place of effective management’ and policy considerations as to the further development of the treatment of entities under double tax conventions. Given the inordinate importance of the definition of ‘resident’, the differences in interpretation to which the current definition gives rise and the economic developments that call for an evaluation of the provision, this thorough examination of the treaty rules on residence of entities will be welcomed by tax lawyers, corporate counsel and policymakers and academics concerned with tax law. The author’s guidance on the concept of residence for tax purposes and his original proposals for reform will prove of great practical value for tax practitioners.

Analysis of the case law test for corporate residence, developed mainly in the United Kingdom beginning in the 19th century, the residence definition adopted in the OECD Model Convention and some of its more common variants, and Canadian domestic statutory provisions.

Tax treaty law and EU tax law in connection with hybrid entities Hybrid entities have traditionally been used as an avenue for international tax planning, and extending benefits under tax treaties to such entities has been a source of controversy for many years now. Although the OECD Partnership Report provided solid policy footing on this issue, there was still no common legal basis that countries could rely on for such positions. The increasing focus of countries towards the curbing of tax avoidance and abuse involving hybrid mismatch arrangements culminated in a specific action plan in the BEPS Project being dedicated to the design of domestic rules and the development of treaty provisions that would neutralize the tax effects of such arrangements. This volume provides an in-depth analysis of various aspects of this topic. It is divided into two parts – the first dealing exclusively with tax treaty issues arising in connection with hybrid entities and the second dealing with EU tax law issues surrounding hybrid entities. The former part comprises chapters analysing how tax treaties have historically dealt with this issue with a focus on domestic court jurisprudence, the positions in the OECD and the UN Model Conventions, the developments that have come about owing to the BEPS Project, and the impact of several existing measures, regimes, and vehicles on these tax treaty provisions. The latter part comprises chapters on how hybrid entities are dealt with under primary EU law, under various secondary law directives including the newly enacted Anti-Tax Avoidance Directives, and an analysis of policy solutions offered in this direction.

The topics of double non-taxation and hybrid entities have acquired particular importance in a context where transformations in the tax world have led to international commitments materialised in the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. In what is the first systematic in-depth analysis of the OECD BEPS Action Plan 2 and hybrid entities, this timely book provides a critical review of the approach adopted by the OECD and proposes a deeply informed alternative method to deal with the problem of hybrid entity mismatches. The author analyses the interaction between the double non-taxation outcome and the use of hybrid entities in an approach not strictly linked to any specific tax jurisdiction. To this end, the analysis includes case studies and examples from a range of jurisdictions emphasising the international tax context, also including the application of tax treaties. Among the seminal matters covered in this edition are the following: foundations of the concepts of double non-taxation and hybrid entities; extensive analysis based on the rules of characterisation of foreign entities for tax purposes in the United States, Spain, Denmark, and Germany, as well as on the Poland/United States and Canada/United States tax treaties; in-depth analysis of the implications of Article 1(2) OECD Model Tax Convention and Article 3(1) Multilateral Instrument (MLI), especially considering the position of developing (source) countries; detailed analysis of the OECD BEPS Action 2 and its recommendations (linking rules), including its implementation in the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD); and elaborated alternative method to deal with hybrid entity mismatches (reactive coordination rule), which is informed by the tax policy aims of simplicity, coherence, and administrability. Detailed comparisons between the author’s proposal and other existing rules elucidate common points and deviations. If merely for its unparalleled clarification of the issues, this book will prove of immeasurable value to practitioners, tax authorities, policymakers and academics concerned with international tax law. Beyond that, as an authoritative guide that promises to reorient the discussion to what really matters in the debate regarding hybrid entity mismatches, this analysis elaborates solutions applicable to a generality of cases worldwide and, therefore, hugely promotes the urgent quest for alternative views.

This book analyses the relationships between tax treaties and domestic law from a constitutional and an international point of view, and how they can be improved in the fields of treaty override, treaty residence and anti-abuse measures. It also shows how the issues raised by these relationships are resolved by tax administrations and courts in selected European and non-European countries.