A research report submitted to the faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Commerce (specialising in Taxation). Johannesburg - March, 2015 / Where Contracting States to a Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) refer to their respective domestic law concepts in respect of determining residence for purposes of a DTA, conflicting results may arise which can lead to double taxation and Contracting States being denied treaty relief. The interpretation of the concept of ‘Place of Effective Management’ as found in the residency tie-breaker clause in Art 4(3) of DTAs (based on the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and Capital) used to resolve issues of dual-resident companies for purposes of applying the DTA, provides a pertinent example of a need for a common international understanding of treaty terms in order to avoid such potential conflicts. This paper explores how the term ‘Place of Effective Management’ should be interpreted in the above context by a South African court of law in order to conform to an internationally accepted meaning of the phrase.

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) / According to South African domestic law, the term ‘place of effective management’ is ‘one of the tests used to determine the residency of a person, other than a natural person’ (South African Institute of Tax Practitioners, 2010, p.549). The term ‘place of effective management’ is not defined in the South African Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 and there is very limited case law in South Africa which deals specifically with the matter. In an attempt to clarify the term, the South African Revenue Service issued Interpretation Note 6: Resident: Place of effective management (persons other than natural persons) (2002) where, as noted by Olivier and Honiball (2008, p.82), ‘emphasis is placed on where important decisions are implemented and not where such decisions are taken’ as the ‘place of effective management’. This is contrary to international guidelines, which typically focus on where important decisions are taken (Olivier and Honiball, 2008, p.75). Key Words: Board of directors, central management and control, control, day-to-day decisions, Discussion Paper on Interpretation Note 6, Interpretation Note 6, key decision making, OECD Model Tax Convention, place of effective management

Foreign direct investment is an important topic in economic research. FDI occurs when a firm invests in a foreign country. The purpose of this thesis is to empirically analyze the effects of FDI on the economic growth of the selected sample of twenty-one OECD countries. The thesis is based on a theoretical model of cross-country regressions and a panel data technique methodology was followed. The results of the time-period 1998-2017, show a direct positive impact of FDI on GDP per capita growth, namely economic growth. Moreover, it was found a lack of complementarity between FDI inflows and human capital, and a negative dependency between FDI inflows and institutions such as private sector credit.

Förslaget i betänkandet om informationsskyldighet för skatterådgivare är starkt influerat av arbetet som pågått inom EU för att motverka aggressiv skatteplanering. Eftersom länder inte har en enhetlig skattelagstiftning skapar det möjligheter att utnyttja kryphål när två eller flera länder uppvisar oförenligheter i lagstiftningen. Aggressiv skatteplanering torde främst vara ett förfarande som sker gränsöverskridande, varför det varit viktigt att inom EU samarbeta för att täppa igen kryphålen. Även inom svensk rätt har det länge pågått en diskussion för att motverka inhemsk aggressiv skatteplanering. Det har resulterat i att regeringen har lagt fram ett betänkande om informationsskyldighet för skatterådgivare, SOU 2018:91. Förslaget i betänkandet innebär att i första hand skatterådgivare åläggs en skyldighet att till Skatteverket inrapportera information angående skattearrangemang som denne utformat eller bistått sin klient med. Detta ska göras i syfte att Skatteverket ska få information tidigare i hanteringen för att på ett mer effektivt sätt kunna få kännedom om aggressiva skatteplaneringsförfaranden. Förslaget i betänkandet har dock fått omfattande kritik ur rättssäkerhetssynpunkt gällande såväl dess utformning som arbetet som ligger till grund för detta. I denna uppsats undersöks förslaget i dess helhet och en jämförelse med såväl skatteflyktslagen som kritiken som riktats mot förslaget görs utifrån de grundläggande rättsprinciper inom svensk rätt. Som slutsats konstateras det att förslaget i betänkandet inte uppfyller de grundläggande kraven på rättssäkerhet.

Práce srovnává a hodnotí dostupnosti zdravotní péče České republiky spolu s dalšími zeměmi OECD podle vybraných indikátorů, jimiž jsou počty praktických lékařů, stomatologů a gynekologů na 1000 obyvatel a podíl výdajů na zdravotnictví k HDP, zdroje financování zdravotnictví a finanční pokrytí zdravotnických služeb.

I | P a g e Abstract This thesis primarily focuses on the construction of a firm-specific index measuring the quality of corporate governance in the most liquid Czech and Croatian companies. The index is made by following OECD recommendations on construction of composite indicators. It allows comparison of best practices implementation on the overall level, and it also provides with a comprehensive analogy in terms of various governance domains performance. These domains are represented by four sub-indices: Board, Conflict of Interest, Shareholders' Rights, and Transparency and Disclosure. Initial assumption, stating that the Czech companies should have higher overall Corporate Governance Index score than the Croatian companies, is approved. Moreover, the Czech companies have stronger performance in three sub-indices: Board, Conflict of Interest, and Transparency and Disclosure, whereas the Croatian companies have negligible advantage solely with regard to the Shareholders' Rights Sub-index.

This research project investigates the implementation of a learning community approach in two rural Australian communities with a particular focus on the initiatives of a primary school in each community. Case study research describes and analyses the developments in each community and a cross case analysis examines similarities and differences in approach and outcomes.

<p>Miljöproblemen uppmärksammas idag i hela världen. Dagligen hör vi att hoten mot miljön måste åtgärdas och att alla måste hjälpas åt. Riksdag, regering, och flera stora världsorganisationer arbetar hårt med att få in ett miljöperspektiv i all undervisning. Det här gäller från förskolan ända upp till vuxenutbildning. Syftet är att undersöka vad barn vet och kan om vardagliga handlingar som påverkar miljön och en hållbar utveckling på ett positivt sätt i förhållande till vad rapporter och styrdokument föreskriver. Vi genomförde studien med hjälp av kvalitativa gruppintervjuer med 36 barn i åldrarna fem till tio år. Intervjuerna genomfördes gruppvis då vi anser att ett socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv kan vara gynnsamt i samtal om ett så stort och komplext ämne som miljö och hållbar utveckling är. Vi använde frågor, bilder och konkret material som underlag när vi genomförde intervjuerna. Generellt anser de flesta barn att det är viktigt med en bra miljö, även om kunskaperna om hur vi åstadkommer detta är varierande. Skillnaden på kunskapen mellan förskolan och grundskolan visade sig vara större än vad vi förväntat oss. Vi kunde inte se att miljöundervisning har gett det resultat och haft den centrala roll som riksdag, regering och världsorganisationer som bland andra FN och OECD föreskrivit.</p>

<p>This paper investigates the environmental effectiveness of the Swedish energy taxes. That is, whether these have decreased the CO2 emissions and how they have changed the structure of the energy consumption. Time series data for the years 1960-2002 is used. The results show that the oil and coal taxes seem to favour a substitution towards less CO2 intensive energy sources. For the natural gas tax however, the opposite is true. An energy saving effect is found for the oil tax and the petrol tax, but the electricity tax seems to increase energy consumption. Regarding the total effect on CO2 emissions, the oil and coal taxes seem to decrease CO2 emissions while the natural gas tax seems to increase them.</p><p>Cross-country regressions are also made to examine if countries with a higher petrol tax have lower a lower rate of CO2 emissions on average. The results show that a higher petrol tax is significantly correlated to lower CO2 emissions.</p><p>The results thus indicate that energy taxes do decrease CO2 emissions. They also show that caution should be used before implementing a natural gas tax since it can have adverse effects on the CO2 emissions.</p>

In 1993, the Committee on Fiscal Affairs (CFA) formed a Working Group to study the application of the OECD Model Tax Convention (OECD MTC) to partnerships, trusts, and other non-corporate entities. In Issues in International Taxation no 6 – The Application of the OECD Model Tax Convention to Partnerships (OECD Report), different cases involving the issues relating to the taxation of partnerships are discussed. In dealing with these cases the CFA tried to develop general principles. There are several issues involved when discussing the taxation of partnerships. Depending on the circumstances in the actual case different tax issues arise. The OECD Report resulted almost exclusively in making changes in the commentary to the OECD MTC (OECD Commentary) and not in the OECD MTC itself. The only change made in the OECD MTC itself is found in article 23 OECD MTC. The changes made in the OECD Commentary are of two different categories: a) changes that are a direct consequence of the changes in the articles themselves in the OECD MTC, and b) changes that are neither clarifications nor amendments to unchanged articles in the OECD MTC. It is important to make this difference in classification since different consequences are at hand for the OECD Member States (OECD MS). Bilateral tax treaties are part of public international law and therefore, their interpretation is governed by the Vienna Convention of the Law of the Treaties (VCLT). Articles 31-33 VCLT are relevant for treaty interpretation. Since the CFA adopted the above-mentioned method, it is important to analyse if the OECD Commentary and changes made to it can be used as a legal means of interpretation according to the VCLT. It must be determined what legal value the OECD Commentary and the implemented changes have upon the parties to the bilateral treaties in force. The determination of the legal value of the OECD Commentary is an important issue and well discussed in the literature. Since the legal status of the OECD Commentary is debated, it is even more important to discuss the consequences of changes made in the OECD Commentary. The OECD Report has been chosen since this is a good example of resolving tax issues by making changes in the OECD Commentary rather than amending the OECD MTC itself.