Base erosion in the form of profit shifting has become an increasing concern internationally as well as in South Africa. A significant type of base erosion in South Africa is in the form of excessive interest deductions where income is effectively shifted to a no-tax or low-tax jurisdiction. One of the key developments affecting the South African tax laws was the introduction of provisions that target base erosion and profit shifting. Included in these provisions is section 23M, which limits the deduction of interest paid to persons in whose hands the interest received is not subject to tax in South Africa. It was, however, identified that section 23M may target the same interest risks that the new section 31 thin capitalisation provisions address. Section 23M was said to be the enactment of thin capitalisation. Although one of the purposes of tax treaties is to encourage international trade and investment, there is also discriminatory taxation, which runs counter to that purpose and therefore the prevention of such discrimination is important when dealing with tax treaties. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Model Tax Convention contains a handful of special criteria in article 24, which must not lead to different or less favourable treatment with regard to taxation. It was found that the non-discrimination article, in particular articles 24(4) and 24(5), may prevent the application of a thin capitalisation regime if the provisions are in contrast with the OECD non-discrimination provisions. Article 24(4) and article 24(5), however, contain an exception that the non-discrimination provisions would not be applicable provided that the thin capitalisation regimes are compatible with the arm’s length principles of article 9. If section 23M was therefore found to be an arm’s length transaction, the article 24(4) and (5) non-discrimination provisions would without further consideration, not be applicable. It was, however, found that section 23M does not consider the factors that should be considered when an arm’s length transaction is applicable, but merely applies the same formula to each company regardless of the size of the company or the industry sector. As a result of this, it appears as if section 23M is arbitrary in nature and therefore would not represent an arm’s length transaction. The exception would not be applicable and would therefore increase the potential non-compliance with the non-discrimination provision. The objective of this study was to determine whether any aspect of section 23M would be contrary to the OECD guidelines relevant to thin capitalisation and in particular the non-discrimination provisions. It was, however, found that although it appears as if section 23M’s primary focus is on cross-border transactions, the provisions do not directly discriminate on the basis of residence. As a result of the discrimination being indirect discrimination and the fact that the cause of section 23M being applicable is not foreign ownership, but rather due to the creditor not being subject to tax, it was concluded that the OECD non-discrimination provisions would not be applicable to section 23M. / MCom (South African and International Tax), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Base erosion in the form of profit shifting has become an increasing concern internationally as well as in South Africa. A significant type of base erosion in South Africa is in the form of excessive interest deductions where income is effectively shifted to a no-tax or low-tax jurisdiction. One of the key developments affecting the South African tax laws was the introduction of provisions that target base erosion and profit shifting. Included in these provisions is section 23M, which limits the deduction of interest paid to persons in whose hands the interest received is not subject to tax in South Africa. It was, however, identified that section 23M may target the same interest risks that the new section 31 thin capitalisation provisions address. Section 23M was said to be the enactment of thin capitalisation. Although one of the purposes of tax treaties is to encourage international trade and investment, there is also discriminatory taxation, which runs counter to that purpose and therefore the prevention of such discrimination is important when dealing with tax treaties. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Model Tax Convention contains a handful of special criteria in article 24, which must not lead to different or less favourable treatment with regard to taxation. It was found that the non-discrimination article, in particular articles 24(4) and 24(5), may prevent the application of a thin capitalisation regime if the provisions are in contrast with the OECD non-discrimination provisions. Article 24(4) and article 24(5), however, contain an exception that the non-discrimination provisions would not be applicable provided that the thin capitalisation regimes are compatible with the arm’s length principles of article 9. If section 23M was therefore found to be an arm’s length transaction, the article 24(4) and (5) non-discrimination provisions would without further consideration, not be applicable. It was, however, found that section 23M does not consider the factors that should be considered when an arm’s length transaction is applicable, but merely applies the same formula to each company regardless of the size of the company or the industry sector. As a result of this, it appears as if section 23M is arbitrary in nature and therefore would not represent an arm’s length transaction. The exception would not be applicable and would therefore increase the potential non-compliance with the non-discrimination provision. The objective of this study was to determine whether any aspect of section 23M would be contrary to the OECD guidelines relevant to thin capitalisation and in particular the non-discrimination provisions. It was, however, found that although it appears as if section 23M’s primary focus is on cross-border transactions, the provisions do not directly discriminate on the basis of residence. As a result of the discrimination being indirect discrimination and the fact that the cause of section 23M being applicable is not foreign ownership, but rather due to the creditor not being subject to tax, it was concluded that the OECD non-discrimination provisions would not be applicable to section 23M. / MCom (South African and International Tax), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

A research report submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce (specialising in Taxation) Johannesburg, 2014 / Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) is a key concern in international tax. In 2010 the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was tasked with the study of BEPS. In 2013 the OECD released the study report “Addressing base erosion and profit shifting” emphasising BEPS and the risk for the world’s economies and tax bases. The OECD has been focused on BEPS due to several reasons, namely; increase in globalisation, an ever-changing digital economic environment, mismatches of different countries’ tax legislation and the ease with which intellectual property can be transferred. They has released several documents detailing the risk of BEPS as well as an action plan outlining their aim for the transformation of local and international tax. According to the OECD corporate income taxes, as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is a possible indication of base erosion. In South Africa, the corporate income tax rate as a percentage of GDP has decreased from 7.2 % in 20081 to 5% in 20132. Is this a possible indication of base erosion or profit shifting taking place? Protecting South Africa’s tax base is paramount for future growth of the country and the economy. It is therefore important to identify whether BEPS is a real risk and to determine whether South Africa has adequate legislation in place to protect its tax base. Keywords: Base erosion and profit shifting, BEPS, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD, international tax, transfer pricing, thin capitalisation, treaty abuse, treaty shopping

Cette thèse s'inscrit dans le cadre de l'Ingénierie des Interfaces Homme-Machine. Si elle traite du développement complet des systèmes interactifs, elle cible, de façon privilégiée, l'évaluation de l'interaction homme-machine. En matière de systèmes critiques, l'évaluation requiert en effet désormais des outils permettant de compenser les pressions industrielles croissantes en termes de coûts et de délais. Aujourd'hui, aucun outil commercialisé ne répond, de façon satisfaisante, à ces nouvelles exigences. Si le monde académique se mobilise, les propositions restent hélas de nature exclusivement proactive ou réactive : tandis qu'un outil proactif agit en phase de construction d'interfaces à des fins de qualité et d'efficacité, un outil réactif relève résolument de l'évaluation de l'utilisabilité. Cette thèse propose CatchIt, un environnement de développement, brisant ce paysage dichotomique par une polyvalence proactive et réactive. CatchIt fonde sa complémentarité sur la capitalisation de descriptions métier. Ces descriptions consignent, pour un domaine applicatif donné, les connaissances métier mûries par l'expérience. CatchIt offre une structure d'accueil permettant de modéliser et pérenniser ces descriptions. Il leur reconnaît un statut normatif sur lequel il fonde ses prestations proactive et réactive. Sa proactivité relève du caractère prescriptif et réutilisable de ces descriptions. Il l'assortit d'un calcul de taux de code réutilisé. Sa réactivité consiste en une détection automatique des déviations entre l'application testée et sa norme métier. Cette confrontation requiert une connexion manuelle entre l'application et les concepts, tâches et stratégies opérateur de cette référence métier. CatchIt propose alors deux évaluations : une version prédictive mesure, dans l'application, les couverture et correction de la modélidation métier, l'observabilité, la multiplicité de la représentation et la curabilité. Une version expérimentale évalue l'utilisabilité de l'interface proposée, ceci par comparaison des comportements opérateur prévu et effectif. CatchIt procède, pour ce faire, à une instrumentation automatique et transparente du code applicatif : sur la base des liens sémantiques tissés entre l'application et sa norme métier, CatchIt identifie dans l'application les méthodes déterminant le contexte d'interaction. Il y insère des instructions espion propageant, vers le modèle normatif, les événements applicatifs ainsi capturés. L'instanciation de ce modèle définit le contexte d'interaction. CatchIt contrôle, dans ce contexte, les correction, complétude et concision de comportements d'opérateurs experts du domaine considéré.

La prise en compte de la gestion des produits en fin de vie est devenue incontournable dans la conception de produits complexes. Ainsi, pour atteindre les objectifs de la réglementation sur l'élimination des véhicules hors d'usage et compte-tenu de l'augmentation croissante de la part de matières plastiques dans les véhicules, la Supply Chain automobile doit désormais justifier de scénarios de valorisation fiables pour leurs produits et par conséquent pour ces matières. L'industrie des matières plastiques, matière techniquement incontournable dans la société de consommation actuelle, est soumise à des pressions sociétales, environnementales et réglementaires fortes remettant en cause leur devenir dans la société. Pour répondre aux pressions environnementales, une des voies de recherche proposée est le développement de filières de recyclage permettant d'économiser des ressources en faisant du déchet une matière première. Ces filières sont des systèmes émergents dont les critères d'évolution doivent être définis. L'industrie automobile a développé de nombreux outils de conception pour le recyclage. Mais ces outils ne prennent pas en compte le devenir des matières plastiques suite au recyclage soit les caractéristiques propres aux filières, les producteurs et équipementiers ne se voyant pas comme utilisateurs de celles-ci. La problématique de l'intégration des filières de recyclage dans la Supply Chain automobile trouve son origine dans le manque de connaissances sur les filières des parties impliquées dans leur développement. Nous proposons donc, dans ce travail de recherche un outil de modélisation des filières- ODEFIRE- constituant par l'intermédiaire des mesures des performances des filières, une aide à la décision à destination des parties prenantes, dont la Supply Chain automobile, pour mettre en place les actions nécessaires pour stabiliser les filières. Nous proposons également une démarche d'acquisition des connaissances sur les filières- DAIMRE- à destination des équipementiers et s'appuyant sur ODEFIRE, permettant de favoriser l'utilisation de matières plastiques recyclées dans des pièces à haute valeur ajoutée et par ce biais de pérenniser l'intégration des filières dans la Supply Chain Automobile.

This thesis answers the question “How does the application of the Swedish adjustment rule correspond to the OECD point of view regarding intragroup loans to thinly capitalised companies?” The question is answered by using the traditional legal method and by examining the way the adjustment rule is applied by the Supreme Administrative Court, the Swedish approach when using the arm’s length principle in Swedish law is then compared to the approach recommended by the OECD. From a tax point of view intragroup prices on commodities and services are of vital importance for multinational enterprises, since these prices in the end affects the total corporate taxation. Also the way of financing a company can have tax implications since it could be an advantage for an MNE to arrange financing of companies within the group through loans rather than contribution of equity capital. A company with a disproportionate debt to equity ratio is considered thinly capitalised and since interest payments are considered deductible expenses, which dividends are not, it provides a way to transfer untaxed profits within a group. This may be an incentive for MNEs to intentionally thinly capitalise companies by providing them with capital through loans instead of equity contributions. The Swedish provision regulating transfer pricing between associated enterprises is the adjustment rule which expresses the arm’s length principle. The purpose of the rule is to adjust erroneous pricing between associated enterprises and it has four requisites that have to be fulfilled in order to be applicable. In the thesis it is concluded that nothing in the preambles to the adjustment rule points at the provision being applicable to thin capitalisation, on the contrary they indicate that it should have a narrow application. Through case law it has been established that the adjustment rule is not applicable to thin capitalisation situations in the sense that it can not be used to reclassify a loan into equity contribution. The provision is, in such a situation, only applicable to adjust interest rates that deviate from rates on the open market. The arm’s length principle expressed in article 9.1 of the OECD Model Tax Convention however seems to have a broader application than the adjustment rule. It is stated in the commentary to the article that it may be applied to prima facie loans, i.e. it can reclassify a loan into equity contribution if the surrounding circumstances points at it being the true nature of the transaction. The conclusions drawn when comparing the reasoning of the Supreme Administrative Court with the OECD regarding the application of the arm’s length principle, is that the way the OECD reason regarding the true nature of a transaction is based on the same idea as the reasoning of the Swedish court. The Swedish Supreme Court however uses this type of reasoning when applying the substance over form principle and not when applying the adjustment rule. In other words, the difference is that the adjustment rule is not acknowledged the same scope of application as article 9.1. Regarding the need to legislate against thin capitalisation in Sweden it is the authors’ opinion that since no examination of the problem has been performed, it is necessary to examine whether thin capitalisation in reality constitutes a problem for the Swedish revenue. Not until it is established if a problem exists should there be a discussion regarding the construction of such a provision.

<p>This thesis answers the question “How does the application of the Swedish adjustment rule correspond to the OECD point of view regarding intragroup loans to thinly capitalised companies?” The question is answered by using the traditional legal method and by examining the way the adjustment rule is applied by the Supreme Administrative Court, the Swedish approach when using the arm’s length principle in Swedish law is then compared to the approach recommended by the OECD.</p><p>From a tax point of view intragroup prices on commodities and services are of vital importance for multinational enterprises, since these prices in the end affects the total corporate taxation. Also the way of financing a company can have tax implications since it could be an advantage for an MNE to arrange financing of companies within the group through loans rather than contribution of equity capital. A company with a disproportionate debt to equity ratio is considered thinly capitalised and since interest payments are considered deductible expenses, which dividends are not, it provides a way to transfer untaxed profits within a group. This may be an incentive for MNEs to intentionally thinly capitalise companies by providing them with capital through loans instead of equity contributions.</p><p>The Swedish provision regulating transfer pricing between associated enterprises is the adjustment rule which expresses the arm’s length principle. The purpose of the rule is to adjust erroneous pricing between associated enterprises and it has four requisites that have to be fulfilled in order to be applicable. In the thesis it is concluded that nothing in the preambles to the adjustment rule points at the provision being applicable to thin capitalisation, on the contrary they indicate that it should have a narrow application. Through case law it has been established that the adjustment rule is not applicable to thin capitalisation situations in the sense that it can not be used to reclassify a loan into equity contribution. The provision is, in such a situation, only applicable to adjust interest rates that deviate from rates on the open market. The arm’s length principle expressed in article 9.1 of the OECD Model Tax Convention however seems to have a broader application than the adjustment rule. It is stated in the commentary to the article that it may be applied to prima facie loans, i.e. it can reclassify a loan into equity contribution if the surrounding circumstances points at it being the true nature of the transaction.</p><p>The conclusions drawn when comparing the reasoning of the Supreme Administrative Court with the OECD regarding the application of the arm’s length principle, is that the way the OECD reason regarding the true nature of a transaction is based on the same idea as the reasoning of the Swedish court. The Swedish Supreme Court however uses this type of reasoning when applying the substance over form principle and not when applying the adjustment rule. In other words, the difference is that the adjustment rule is not acknowledged the same scope of application as article 9.1.</p><p>Regarding the need to legislate against thin capitalisation in Sweden it is the authors’ opinion that since no examination of the problem has been performed, it is necessary to examine whether thin capitalisation in reality constitutes a problem for the Swedish revenue. Not until it is established if a problem exists should there be a discussion regarding the construction of such a provision.</p>

À STMicroelectronics, l'équipe de Business Intelligence est confrontée à exploiter quotidiennement des données et des informations pour créer des rapports d'activité afin de superviser la production. Dans une telle organisation industrielle, les produits changent régulièrement et les données peuvent rapidement devenir obsolètes. Par conséquent, au fil du temps, le nombre de rapports crées est de plus en plus important, tandis que les connaissances sur leur création sont perdues. Ceci est illustré dans une évaluation qualitative et quantitative de la partie principale du système de connaissances à STMicroelectronics.Ainsi, des problèmes d'obsolescence, de duplication, de non-centralisation et de prolifération continuent à surgir. Ce travail doit, donc, répondre à la question de recherche générale suivante:Comment assurer une capitalisation continue des connaissances métier?Pour répondre à cette question, un cycle d'amélioration continue pour la capitalisation des connaissances est proposé. Son objectif est de capitaliser efficacement et en permanence les connaissances, tout en ciblant les besoins métier et assurant une solution évolutive. Un système de Business Intelligence pour la Business Intelligence (BI4BI) est proposé. Comme la connaissance est intégrée non seulement dans les systèmes et les outils, mais aussi détenue par les humains et leurs pratiques, notre solution de capitalisation de connaissances proposée implique aussi les utilisateurs et les organisations: elle propose de recueillir les points de vue des utilisateurs pour les intégrer dans la représentation des connaissances et dans notre système BI4BI. / At STMicroelectronics, the Business Intelligence team is daily confronted to exploit data and information to create reports about manufacturing activities in order to supervise it. In such an industrial organization, products change regularly and data can quickly become obsolete. Consequently, over time, the number of created reports is highly growing, while knowledge about their creation is lost. This is shown in a qualitative and quantitative evaluation of the main part of the STMicroelectronics' knowledge system.As a result, problems related to knowledge obsolescence, duplication, non-centralization and proliferation continuously arise. Therefore, this work addresses the general following research question:How to ensure a continuous expert knowledge capitalization?To answer this question, a continuous improvement cycle for knowledge capitalization is proposed. Its objective is to effectively and continuously capitalize expert knowledge while targeting business needs and providing an evolving solution. It is based on a Business Intelligence for Business Intelligence system (BI4BI). Since knowledge is embedded not only in systems and tools, but also in human minds and practices, our proposed knowledge capitalization solution also involves people and organizations: it proposes to collect users' feedbacks and insights to integrate them in knowledge representation and in our BI4BI tool.

Sammanfattning Titel: Sambandet mellan kapitalstruktur och börsvärde: En jämförande studie mellan fastighetsbolag och övriga Large Cap-företag på Stockholmsbörsen Författare: Magnus Hofsberger, Albin Seger Handledare: Katarina Eriksson Bakgrund: Sambandet mellan kapitalstruktur och företagsvärde har sedan Modigliani och Miller (1958) publicerade irrelevansteoremet varit ett hett ämne. Än idag finns det dock inget entydigt svar på hur detta samband ser ut. Diskussionen har även på senare tid blivit ytterst aktuell då flera branscher på den svenska marknaden har ökat sin skuldsättning. Bland dessa branscher är det framförallt fastighetsbranschen som drivit på utvecklingen. Tidigare forskning är oenig och studien upplever att det finns ett kunskapsgap kring hur sambandet mellan kapitalstruktur och börsvärde ser ut på den svenska marknaden. Syfte: Studiens syfte är att undersöka och analysera hur kapitalstrukturen hos bolag noterade på Large Cap på Stockholmsbörsen påverkar deras börsvärde. Dessutom syftar studien att undersöka eventuella skillnader i detta samband mellan fastighetsbolag och övriga Large Cap-företag. Metod: För att besvara studiens frågeställningar och syfte har studien använt sig av en kvantitativ forskningsmetod med en deduktiv ansats samt en paneldataregression för perioden 2018-2022. Resultat: Studien fann att sambandet mellan kapitalstruktur och börsvärde negativt och statistiskt signifikant. Dummyvariabeln för fastighetsbolag var inte statistiskt signifikant. Studien kan därmed konkludera att fastighetsbranschen inte skilde sig från resterande Large Cap-företag. / Abstract Title: The relationship Between Capital Structure and Market Capitalisation: A comparative study between Real Estate Companies and Other Large Cap Firms on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Authors: Magnus Hofsberger, Albin Seger Supervisor: Katarina Eriksson Background: The relationship between capital structure and market capitalisation has been a hot topic ever since Modigliani and Miller (1958) published the irrelevance-theorem. There is, however, to this day no definite answer on what this relationship looks like. The discussion has become particularly relevant in recent times as several industries in the Swedish market have increased their leverage. Among these industries, it is primarily the real estate sector that has been driving the trend. Previous research has been inconclusive, and the study has identified a knowledge gap regarding the relationship between capital structure and market capitalisation in the Swedish market. Purpose: The purpose of the study is to investigate and analyze how the capital structure of companies listed on the Large Cap segment of the Stockholm Stock Exchange affects their market value. Additionally, the study aims to examine any differences in this relationship between real estate companies and other Large Cap firms. Method: To address the research questions and the purpose of the study, a quantitative research method with a deductive approach in addition to a paneldataregression for the period 2018-2022 was used. Results: The study found that the relationship between capital structure and market capitalisation was negative and statistically significant. The dummy variable for real estate companies was not statistically significant. The study can therefore conclude that the real estate sector did not differ from the remaining Large Cap firms.

À la conjonction de l'Information Géographique et de l'Informatique, la recherche menée relève du domaine Géomatique. Elle traite de l'apport de l'ingénierie des modèles à la conception et au développement de Systèmes d'Information Géographique (SIG). Le domaine d'application géomatique, une capitalisation des connaissances déficiente au cours du processus de développement et une qualité des connaissances capturées en séance d'analyse insuffisante ont conduit à se fixer comme objectif de réaliser un outil d'aide à la conception de Systèmes d'Information Géographique adapté à un processus de développement permettant le prototypage rapide en séance d'analyse et assurant la capitalisation des connaissances. La dichotomie Information Géographique / Informatique a nécessité de mobiliser des connaissances de ces deux domaines et structure le contenu de la recherche. La première contribution porte sur la modélisation des SIG. Suite à un balayage rapide de la bibliographie sur les méthodes et formalismes de conception de SIG existants, le besoin de comparer les propriétés spatiales et temporelles mise en ½uvre par les méthodes et les formalismes a conduit à entreprendre une étude terminologique s'appuyant sur la théorie des ensembles. Cette étude a donné lieu à une taxinomie générale de la terminologie utilisée. La proximité conceptuelle entre cette taxinomie et les diagrammes de classes UML a permis de définir une méthode de dérivation de cette taxinomie pour obtenir un métamodèle SIG et un Patron de Conception SIG. Ce dernier sera généré automatiquement par les transformations définies en ingénierie des modèles. L'étude terminologique a aussi permis d'identifier les relations entre les concepts thématiques, les propriétés spatiales et temporelles, etc. Ces relations ont contribué à définir les transformations de modèles de la seconde contribution. La seconde contribution relève de l'ingénierie des modèles. L'objectif relatif au processus de développement permettant le prototypage rapide en séance d'analyse a conduit à définir la méthode Continuous Integration Unified Process qui superpose un cycle de prototypage rapide en phase d'analyse de la méthode Unified Process. L'objectif de capitalisation des connaissances a nécessité de concevoir une généralisation de l'approche MDA appelée Software Development Process Approach (SDPA) fondée sur le constat que la capitalisation des connaissances est une problématique qui se pose au cours de tout le processus de développement. Un artefact multimodèle, appelé Software Development Process Model (SDPM), a été conçu pour résoudre ce problème. Il associe un sous-modèle à chacune des phases du cycle de développement. Une transformation de diffusion fondée sur le clonage des concepts permet de transférer, de sous-modèle en sous-modèle, les concepts du sous-modèle d'analyse jusqu'au(x) sous-modèle(s) d'implémentation. Une transformation de rétrodiffusion permet le transfert inverse. La cohérence du SDPM est assurée par une architecture de liens de traçabilité qui relie tout concept à son clone et par des prétraitements et/ou post-traitements aux transformations de diffusion et de rétrodiffusion. Quatre transformations de nature géomatique permettent d'une part, la saisie des propriétés spatiales et/ou temporelles des entités référencées sous forme d'annotations et, d'autre part, la conversion de ces annotations en éléments de modélisation UML exploitables par les générateurs de code de l'atelier de génie logiciel. Enfin, les trois transformations effectuées sur le modèle d'implémentation SQL adaptent le modèle diffusé au générateur de code de l'atelier de génie logiciel utilisé. La méthode Continuous Integration Unified Process et la démarche Software Development Process Approach ont été instrumentées au sein de l'atelier de génie logiciel