M.Comm. (International Taxation) / Under the South African income tax system, para 12 of the Eighth Schedule states that, when a person ceases to be a resident, he/she is deemed to have disposed of his/her worldwide assets (subject to certain exclusions) at market value the day before he/she terminates his/her residency. Such deemed disposal triggers a capital gains tax charge. Commonly referred to as the ‘exit tax’, it has been in place since the introduction of capital gains tax on 1 October 2001. A recent ruling in the Supreme Court of Appeals found that according to article 13 of a double tax agreement (hereafter “DTA”) based on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Model Tax Convention, a deemed disposal is regarded as an alienation of property, and (provided the exclusions do not apply) exclusive taxing rights are given to the Resident State. This has the effect to include the deemed disposal rules relating to exit taxes under this article and potentially override the application of an exit tax under domestic legislation. The override of exit taxes based on a DTA can deprive a country of its fair share of taxes and there is no protection for a country’s tax base. It is important to understand the exit tax and the interaction with DTAs to ensure that there is fairness and equity in the South African income tax system.

The objective of the study was to investigate the right of the South African Government to tax the income earned by a foreign company when rendering services in South Africa to a South African associated enterprise on a recurrent basis, together with the right to tax the amounts paid to the employees of the permanent establishment for services rendered in South Africa. At the same time the research investigated whether the services rendered by a foreign company to an associated enterprise in South Africa on a recurrent basis would constitute a permanent establishment, as this is essential before South Africa may tax either the foreign company or the employees of the permanent establishment (where such employees are not resident in South Africa).The research was conducted by means of a critical analysis of documentary data and data from a limited number of interviews with academics and the authors of textbooks and articles. In order to limit the scope of the research, a number of assumptions were made. Conflicting viewpoints underlying certain of these assumptions were discussed. Some of the important conclusions reached are that the provisions of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties should be taken into account when interpreting South African legislation (including Double Tax Agreements), and that the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Commentary may be relied upon when interpreting OECD based Double Tax Agreements in South Africa. No conclusion was reached on whether to apply an ambulatory or a static basis of interpreting the OECD Commentary, however. The final conclusion of the research is that the services rendered in South Africa on a recurrent basis would be geographically and commercially coherent and consequently meet the "location test'. It is clear that as the services are rendered regularly and recurrently, they would be regarded as having the necessary permanence and would meet the 'duration test'. The place of business would therefore be regarded as being fixed (having the necessary degree of permanence). As the services would be rendered at the place of business of the South African entity, they would be regarded as being rendered 'through' the place of business and the foreign entity would be regarded as having a permanent establishment in South Africa (as defined in Article 5(1) of the OECD Model Tax Convention}. The South African Government would therefore be entitled to tax the income attributable to the permanent establishment and the income earned by the non resident employees, who rendered services in South Africa for the permanent establishment. Once the entitlement to tax exists, South African legislative rules determine how South Africa proceeds to tax the income.

This thesis deals with the question of how far the Member States of EU have unified the system of taxation of royalties with respect to the Czech Republic. This issue is analyzed on the basis of comparison of Conventions between Czech Republic and other member states of EU. As key comparators were used the following approaches: grammatical interpretation of conventions, the definition of royalties and the range of taxation in the state of source. In order to examine the issue of taxation of royalties, attention is also given to the definition of royalties from the Czech legislation as well as from OECD (based on the Commentary to the Model Treaty) point of view. The thesis outlines also practical approaches to taxation of royalties in various model situations.

Este estudo tem por escopo analisar o conceito das cláusulas de tax sparing e matching credit, os principais argumentos favoráveis e contrários à utilização desses mecanismos e as hipóteses em que tais cláusulas são adotadas, nos âmbitos nacional e internacional. Sabe-se que, em um primeiro momento, a Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico (OCDE) chegou a recomendar a utilização das cláusulas de tax sparing nos acordos de bitributação celebrados entre países com graus diferentes de desenvolvimento econômico, como uma forma de atrair investimentos para os países menos desenvolvidos. No entanto, em relatório publicado em 1998, denominado Tax sparing: a reconsideration, a OCDE reviu sua posição inicial sobre o assunto, passando então a desencorajar o uso dessas cláusulas por seus países membros, através de diversas críticas e questionamentos acerca de sua adoção. O Brasil, por sua vez, desde os primeiros acordos de bitributação celebrados, nos primórdios da década de 1960, tem firmado a política de sempre negociar cláusulas de tax sparing e matching credit, especialmente nos acordos celebrados com países desenvolvidos. Considerando-se tal cenário, pretende-se, com o presente trabalho, estudar as cláusulas de tax sparing e matching credit de forma profunda, de modo a oferecer subsídios para um adequado enfrentamento da questão em futuras negociações de acordos de bitributação pelo País. / The purpose of this study is to analyze the concept of tax sparing and matching credit clauses, the main arguments for and against the use of these mechanisms and the circumstances in which such clauses are adopted, nationally and internationally. It is known that, at first, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) used to recommend the inclusion of tax sparing clauses in double taxation conventions concluded between countries with different levels of economic development, as a way of attracting investments for less developed countries. However, the OECD revised its initial position on the subject in a report published in 1998, called \"Tax sparing: a reconsideration\", discouraging the use of such clauses by its member countries through various criticisms and questions about their adoption. In its turn, since the first double taxation agreements concluded in the early 1960s the Brazilian policy regarding the matter has always been to negotiate tax sparing and matching credit clauses, especially in conventions with developed countries. Given such a scenario, this paper aims at studying tax sparing and matching credit clauses deeply, in order to provide devices for an accurate understanding of the issue in future negotiations of double taxation conventions by the Country.

Tax systems of EU countries and agreements to avoid double taxation Abstract This thesis discusses double taxation avoidance agreements in the context of the European Union. It compares contents of selected bilateral double taxation avoidance agreements signed between the Czech Republic and five other European Union countries with the OECD model agreement. Aim of the thesis is to find out how the reservations of individual countries to the OECD model agreement are incorporated into their content. At the same time aim is to verify the influence of the European Union on the wording of those agreements. The first part discusses the tax theory and application of methods for elimination of double taxation in practice. The second part examines the harmonization of tax legislation in the EU and its influence of the European Court of Justice on the double taxation avoidance agreements. The third section describes the types of model agreements used by European countries, their development and reservations of individual countries to the OECD model treaty. The last section analyzes chosen agreements in the context of the OECD model treaty.

práce v anglickém jazyce International double taxation International taxation is a very large topic. It is possible to write hundreds of pages about this subject but there will still be many problems which will be waiting for their solution. This theme is also very interesting and in this time very actual. I am sure that importance of international taxation will be highly raising in the future. This is caused by high intensity of the mobility of people and corporations, capital, services, and property but on on the other side it is caused also by still higher and higher number of tax evasions. The states are then forced to make a larger effort in cooperation between them and also to try to prevent the tax evasions. Double taxation agreements should be considered as a good solution for prevention of tax evasions and also mainly only these treaties can assure fair distribution of paid taxes between the states. It wasn't possible to make comprehensive analysis of this large subject in this relatively short thesis. So I decided to focus only on some issues of international double taxation. I was trying to choose issues which make often problems in application or issues which I am considering as very interesting. Sometimes the work on my thesis was not easy because of high number of different opinions....

Tax systems of the states in the European Union and double taxation avoidance agreements The purpose of this Master thesis on the theme "Tax systems of the states in the European Union and double taxation avoidance agreements" is to provide a complete description and an analysis of the actual situation of tax harmonization in the European Union and of the progress made in this field. Simultaneously the Master thesis presents the reasons for concluding the double taxation avoidance agreements while comparing and analysing in particular the double taxation avoidance agreement concluded between the Czech Republic, Great Britain and Germany. It focuses mainly on the tax systems of the above mentioned countries, compares them between each other, and highlights their basic differences and particularities of each of them. This Master thesis is divided into four chapters. The two first chapters are focusing on the theoretical aspects of the tax harmonization and double taxation avoidance agreement. These chapters are characterizing the tax harmonization, describing the reasons why to achieve the tax harmonization and are explaining the reasons why, within the actual state of the tax harmonization in the EU, the double taxation avoidance agreements should be concluded. Furthermore, it is dealing with the...

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, 2016 / The Davis Tax Committee released their First Interim Report on Estate Duty on 13 July 2015 which contained certain recommendations concerning the way trusts should be taxed which were to act as a deterrent against aggressive estate planning. This report also contained suggested changes to current estate duty legislation. Changes to these recommendations, yet to be published in a second report, were discussed in a webinar by Judge Dennis Davis in December 2015 and the 2016 Budget Review contained additional suggestions with regard to the taxation of trusts. This study constructs case studies to compare the effect of the various recommendations on total taxation and capital preservation in a scenario where assets are held in a South African trust over a period of time, with a scenario where such assets are kept in a South African tax resident’s personal estate. The case studies focus only on high-net-worth trusts and personal estates. The possible double taxation which may occur as a result of levying both estate duty and capital gains tax on death is also briefly considered. The case study results show the punitive effects of the proposed repeal of the s 4(q) estate duty deduction for inter-spousal bequests on the personal estate scenarios and show how several of the new proposals could result in effective capital tax rates in excess of the deemed maximum capital tax benchmark of 15%. This may result in more aggressive estate planning strategies being employed should such proposals be enacted. The report also concludes that the double taxation effect of both estate duty and capital gains tax levied on death is likely to be small on average, although individual high-net-worth estates may be subject to such double taxation in certain cases. Key words: Davis Tax Committee’s First Interim Report on Estate Duty, taxation of South African trusts, South African trusts, South African estate duty, estate planning, double taxation on death, estimate for total capital gains tax collected on death, high-net-worth individuals, inequality in South Africa, wealth tax in South Africa, total taxation in South African trusts, income-splitting in South African trusts, capital preservation in South African trusts, South African trust case study, South African estate duty case study, South African estate planning case study / MT2017

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) Degree: Master of Commerce (specialising in Taxation) Date: 30 March 2016 / The decision to undertake domestic (onshore) or international (offshore) trade activity should be one primarily influenced by the perceived commercial viability and sustainability of the trade activity in a local or foreign jurisdiction. As with all investment decisions, the decision to trade onshore or offshore should not be a “tax decision”, i.e. a decision motivated primarily by the resultant tax outcome of such trade in the jurisdiction under consideration. ‘Tax is usually not a major factor in the initial decision of an enterprise to make a direct investment abroad. Other factors such as return on investment, political stability, labo[u]r costs and access to foreign markets, are much more important as far as the original investment is concerned. The tax “tail” should not wag the commercial “dog”.1 Similarly, the decision to trade onshore or offshore should never result from a “taxable person or taxable entity decision”, i.e. a decision to trade onshore or offshore based on the manipulation of the existing mismatch in tax treatment between different ‘persons’ as recognised (whether defined or not) in the relevant tax legislation. Persons typically recognised for the purpose of tax legislation include, inter alia, natural individuals, companies2 and trusts. ‘A partnership, in South African law, is not a legal person distinct from the partners of whom it is composed, nor is a partnership a taxable persona for the purposes of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 (the ‘Act’).’3 The purpose of this research will be to reveal the creation of a bias in the matter of double taxation of companies, in comparison to, the avoidance of double taxation within partnerships, even where it is observed that the characteristics of a modern partnership are increasingly akin to those of a company. This is a phenomenon found to occur in many jurisdictions across the world. Essentially, the premise of this research is to assert that a company is subject to economic double taxation in South Africa and certain jurisdictions, whereas a partnership, although closely resembling a company (i.e. a ‘quasi-partnership’), is not. / MT2017

Esta dissertação tem o objetivo de analisar a figura dos juros sobre o capital próprio, especialmente para definir a sua natureza jurídica e adequada qualificação no âmbito dos acordos para evitar a dupla tributação. Para tanto, além de fazermos uma digressão sobre o histórico de tal figura e os motivos da sua instituição, visando entendê-la melhor, estudamos, sob a perspectiva do Direito Tributário e também do Direito Comercial, as diferentes formas de remuneração do capital financiado por meio de capital próprio e de capital de terceiros, quais sejam: os dividendos e os juros remuneratórios. Analisamos detalhadamente as regras tributárias aplicáveis ao pagamento de juros sobre o capital próprio e também aquelas que definem a sua forma de cálculo. Comparamos as particularidades dos juros sobre o capital próprio às figuras dos dividendos e dos juros remuneratórios, de modo a definir a sua natureza jurídica como espécie de remuneração de sócios, diversa dos dividendos. Criticamos alguns aspectos das correntes atualmente existentes sobre o assunto, justificando a nossa posição. Analisamos, também, a forma adequada de qualificação dos juros sobre o capital próprio nos acordos para evitar a dupla tributação, especialmente em relação à Convenção Modelo da Organização para a Cooperação e Desenvolvimento Econômico (OCDE). Ao final, concluímos que, a despeito de os juros sobre o capital próprio terem natureza de remuneração de sócios diversa da figura dos dividendos, para fins de aplicação dos acordos para evitar a dupla tributação, devem ser qualificados como dividendos. / This dissertation aims at analyzing the interest on equity, especially to define its nature and proper qualification within the treaties to avoid double taxation. For this purpose, in addition to the history of the interest on equity and the reasons that justified its creation, we study, from a Corporate Law and also Tax Law standpoint, the different kinds of remuneration of equity and debt, which is: dividends and interests. We also analyze in details the tax rules applicable to the payment of the interest on equity and the ones that provide for its calculus. We compare the specificities of the interest on equity with the dividends and interests, in order to define its nature as a kind of equity remuneration, which may not be associated to dividends. In this regard, we criticize specific aspects of the existing understandings on the issue, justifying our opinion. Moreover, we analyze the proper qualification of the interest on the equity within the treaties to avoid double taxation, in particular the Model Tax Convention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). We conclude that, even though the interest on equity is a kind of equity remuneration, which is different from the dividends, for the purposes of applying treaties to avoid double taxation, it should be qualified as dividends.