Issues of international tax relations are a very important matter in the domain of international business. Double taxation of income and capital, administrative demands of crossborder tax relations, and from the point of view of tax authorities also fight against tax evasion, these all are problems that must be considered rigorously in a world economicaly based on international exchange of goods and services. What's more, these issues are dealt with on mutualy distinct legal legal levels of domestic, European and international law, and only with deep analysis of all three systems in context of each other can be identified what rules govern specific issues of international tax relations. Although some areas, especially avoding international double taxation, are nowadays resolved in a satisfactory way, other issues, e.g. crossborder assistance in collection of taxes, are yet to be settled complacently. This thesis is aimed at exploring international tax relations and legal rules, that govern these relations. Where possible, author takes broader look at issues at hand; where finding relevant resources is too challenging, it takes a point of view from perspective of czech legal system including valid international agreements. Main part of this text deals with issues related to prevention of...

Dans la résolution d’un conflit opérée conformément aux règles de droit qui lui sont applicables, les juridictions ordinaires françaises sont amenées à se prononcer sur l’applicabilité des normes conventionnelles au regard de leur conformité à la Constitution. Ce contrôle, longtemps cantonné à la seule vérification de l’existence de la procédure d’insertion de l’engagement international, s’est progressivement développé, jusqu’à conduire à une appréciation de la constitutionnalité externe de la norme internationale. Dans un contexte de prégnance exponentielle de l’ordre juridique international sur l’ordre juridique interne, cette dynamique jurisprudentielle est apparue comme un palliatif aux carences inhérentes au contrôle a priori pratiqué par le Conseil constitutionnel, interprète authentique et premier de la Constitution. La conjugaison des deux modes de contrôle de constitutionnalité, augmentée de l’examen préventif opéré par les formations administratives du Conseil d'État, n’apporte pourtant pas une réponse pleinement satisfaisante à l’ « angle mort » persistant dans le contrôle de constitutionnalité des normes internationales. En l’absence de titre d’habilitation au bénéfice du juge ordinaire dirigé contre elle, la norme internationale jouit d’une injusticiabilité de nature à obérer la suprématie de la Constitution dans l’ordre juridique interne. Le Conseil d'État et la Cour de cassation ont pourtant consacré cette supériorité. Mais le refus par le juge ordinaire d’étendre sa jurisprudence au contrôle de la constitutionnalité interne de la norme internationale rend inconséquente cette affirmation jurisprudentielle. L’instauration de la question prioritaire de constitutionnalité, loin de vider le débat de son intérêt, réactive les interrogations soulevées par l’appréhension des rapports de systèmes, en soulignant la nécessité d’opposer un contrôle de l’applicabilité des engagements internationaux en vigueur. Il convient dès lors de s’interroger sur la possibilité et sur l’opportunité d’une évolution en ce sens de la jurisprudence du Conseil d'État et de la Cour de cassation. L’enjeu de la réflexion menée n’est pas uniquement théorique. Au-delà des implications procédurales, elle dessine en creux les contours de la souveraineté nationale et interroge quant à sa réalité / In order to decide a case in accordance with applicable law, French ordinary jurisdictions are lead to determine whether applicable international rules comply with the Constitution. This supervision was long limited to the review of the insertion modalities of international treaties into domestic law and has progressively extended to the review of the external constitutionality of international rules. This evolution has compensated for the inherent shortcomings of the a priori review of international treaties carried out by the Constitutional Council, the final interpret of the Constitution. The conjugation of these two review mechanisms does not however satisfactorily address a “blind spot” in the area of the compliance of international rules to the Constitution. The fact that there are cases in which international rules cannot be reviewed jeopardizes the supremacy of the Constitution in domestic law. The Council of State and the Court of Cassation have however recognized this superiority but the refusal by ordinary jurisdictions to review the internal constitutionality of the international rules makes this superiority ineffective. The introduction of the “priority preliminary ruling on the issue of constitutionality revives the debate regarding systems relationships, and emphasizes the necessity of establishing a more complete review of the applicability of international treaties in force. Thoughts should be given to the possibility of such an evolution in the Council of State and Cassation Courts rulings. The stakes of the analysis here conducted are not only theoretical. Beyond procedural consequences, it draws a first outline of the national sovereignty, and questions as its reality

DEFINITION OF INVESTMENT IN INTERNATIONAL PROMOTION AND PROTECTION AGREEMENTS Abstract Definition of the investment is of particular importance in terms of scope of the rights and obligations arising out of the investment protection treaties. This is the case especially when we are in the presence of dispute between the foreign investor and the host state where definition forms the basis of the tribunal's jurisdiction. The object of this thesis is in spite of the absence of globally accepted legal definition of "foreign investment" to attempt to summarize most of the historical and current concepts of this notion and to provide by means of the various legal sources, case law as well as the doctrinal points of view the comprehensive approach to its content in the modern international investment law. However this absence of the general legal definition of the international investment was not considered as the obstacle for its use. Instead it represents the advantage in terms of potentially wide field of its application and the flexibility resulting from its openness. Bilateral investment treaties representing the mainstream of the regulation of international investments covers quite a wide field of economic activities to which the investment tribunals in the course of their function attempted to draw some...

M.Com. (South African and International Taxation) / The term “beneficial ownership” was first included in Articles 10, 11 and 12 of the OECD’s Model Tax Convention in 1977 but it is not defined in the OECD’s Model Tax Convention and most countries do not have a definition in their domestic tax laws. There is a need for South African revenue authorities to consider how the concept of beneficial ownership will be applied in an international tax context especially with the introduction of withholding tax on dividends and the pending implementation of withholding tax on interest. A review and analysis of interpretation principles from the Vienna Convention, the OECD, selected countries and experts revealed that there are common interpretation principles which are being applied consistently when determining beneficial ownership for international tax purposes. When applied against relevant, recent international tax case law, it was interesting to note that these common interpretation principles did not consistently yield results which were in line with the courts’ judgements. The common interpretation principles represent attributes which can be used to determine beneficial ownership in international tax and could prove useful to South African revenue authorities in constructing a domestic definition for “beneficial ownership.”

Il n'existe pas à l'heure actuelle de définition « officielle » des juridictions fiscales non coopératives, l'appréhension de ces dernières étant particulièrement difficile à cerner. D'où la grande difficulté de les recenser avec exactitude et du même coup de leur donner une désignation géographique précise... Or, cette notion est d'autant plus importante qu'elle est le critère de détermination de territoires à régime fiscal dit « privilégié. » L'étude de la notion des juridictions fiscales non coopératives apparaît dès lors comme fondamentale pour aborder l'approche des législations fiscales internationales dans l'avenir. En effet, à partir de quand sommes-nous en présence d’une juridiction fiscale non coopérative ? Quels critères juridiques adopter pour les définir ? Bref, comment identifier de telles juridictions ? Quelles sont leurs caractéristiques premières ? Combien y'en a-t-il de par le monde et quel est leur poids exact dans l'économie mondiale ? Quelle a été l'évolution de l'approche internationale de ces juridictions dans le passé ? Comment cette approche peut-elle évoluer dans le futur pour tenir compte des contraintes économiques et financières avec la mondialisation ? En réalité, cette ambigüité accompagnant la notion de juridictions fiscales non coopératives, ne relève pas seulement de la simple négligence législative de la part des États qui a priori devraient être chargés de la définir. Bien plus, il s'agit là d'un véritable flou juridique plus ou moins organisé qui contribue grandement à entretenir l'opacité de ces territoires et à faciliter la tentation de l'évasion fiscale. / There is at the moment no "official" definition of the not cooperative fiscal jurisdictions, apprehension of these last ones being particularly difficult to identify. Hence the great difficulty of accurately identifying and thereby give them a specific geographic designation... Now, this notion is especially important as it is the criterion for determining territories Tax System "privileged." The study of the notion of the not cooperative fiscal jurisdictions therefore appears to be fundamental to discuss the approach of international tax laws in the future. Indeed, from when we are in the presence of a non cooperative fiscal jurisdiction? What legal criteria to adopt to define them? In brief, how identify such jurisdictions? What are their first characteristics? How much has it to it throughout the world and which is their exact weight in the world economy? What was the evolution of the international approach of these jurisdictions in past? How can this approach evolve in the future to take into account economic and financial constraints with the globalization? In reality, this ambiguity accompanying the notion of not cooperative fiscal jurisdictions, recover not only from the simple legislative negligence on behalf of the States which a priori should be in charge of defining it. Much more, it is about a real more or less organized vagueness of the law there which contributes largely to maintain the opacity of these territories and to facilitate the temptation of the tax evasion.

Thesis (M. Comm,)--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, 2001. / Electronic commerce is a new technology, which is growing rapidly and has the ability to create a truly global digital economy. The extraordinary growth of the internet in the last few years has led to the birth of a world without borders, a place where free communication, a competitive market and extensive comparison shopping are a matter of course. This apparent lack of geography in cyberspace has raised complex problems regarding government tax policy. The rapid rise in sales over the internet and the fact that most internet buyers pay no income tax on transactions has ignited a considerable debate over taxes and the internet. The nature of the internet and the globalisation of the world economy mean that developments in e-commerce create legal problems concerning security of transactions and legal jurisdiction of transactions. There is a general concern that e-commerce provides taxpayers with the ability to move transactions outside a country's jurisdiction and thus avoid paying tax in that taxing jurisdiction. The advent of ecommerce has also given dishonest taxpayers the ability to structure their affairs to reduce or avoid paying tax in their jurisdictions. Rules written specifically to address the unique characteristics of electronic commerce are few and must be creatively adapted to the unique needs of e-commerce. As the volume of e-commerce increases, however, so will the number of rules. Many government committees and commissions devoted wholly or partly to make proposals and write the rules for e-commerce, exist throughout the world. In the United States the highest profile commission is the Advisory Commission on Electronic Commerce. This commission has a mandate to recommend far-reaching changes to the taxation of electronic commerce, especially in the areas of sales and value-added tax ('Vat') and cross-border taxation. Research conducted by Austan Goolsbee has shown that applying the conventional tax policy to the internet commerce will reduce the number of buyers on the internet by up to 24 percent. Various countries are currently formulating their respective regulatory policies in an attempt to find solutions to problems posed by e-commerce.

Thesis (M.Com. (Taxation))--University of the Witwatersrand, Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, School of Accountancy, 2014. / With the international platform for cross border investment and economic development growing year on year at a steady pace, it has become apparent that bilateral income tax treaties do not always operate effectively in multilateral tax situations. Global transactions involving more than two states are certainly not uncommon and it could be said that the most fundamental issue in international taxation is double taxation resulting from the taxing rights of different tax jurisdictions that ‘overlap’ with regard to, generally speaking, one taxpayer or one declared income stream. Multilateral tax situations, commonly known as triangular cases, occur where tax incidence on a particular stream of income is triggered in three countries. These situations typically arise where a person who is a tax resident in two respective countries for tax purposes (a dual resident), or a person who is a tax resident in one country and has a permanent establishment in another, is earning revenue of which the source is in a third country. Taxing rights and jurisdictions of the three countries involved could potentially be in conflict with each other and therefore such situations may bring about lawful international triangular taxation or double taxation which will inevitably discourage enterprises from continuing investment and development internationally. Broad multilateral treaties in the income tax arena are not common1, and most treaties are still of a bilateral nature, i.e. generally addressing tax scenarios where only two specific countries are involved. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (’the OECD’)Model Tax Convention states this: There are no reasons to believe that the conclusion of a multilateral tax convention involving all Member countries could now be considered practicable. The Committee therefore considers that bilateral conventions are still a more appropriate way to ensure the elimination of double taxation at the international level.2

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). / There has been significant advances in the international arena with regards to global economic growth and trade, as well as enormous competition by countries to attract inward foreign direct investment from multinational enterprises (MNEs) to ensure the sustainability of their own economies. Fundamentally the contentious issue is the possibility of double taxation (DT), due to the dual residency of the MNE. The MNE operates in various markets which results in cross-border transactions, whether physical or electronic, and this ultimately means that different tax jurisdictions will become applicable and enforceable by each relevant country. These dual resident MNEs could be seen as a tax resident in both countries and thus be liable for tax obligations in both of these countries. This would therefore lead to the same income incurring DT or double non-taxation (DNT), which would have a devastating impact on that MNE. This lead to the establishment of double taxation treaties, agreements and conventions (DTA’s), between various countries which are aimed at addressing this imbalance. As technology advances at an alarming rate, so too does the possibility of abuse of tax treaties. Two important criteria are ‘the place of effective management’ (POEM) and the ‘permanent establishment’ (PE), which are critical to the determination of the correct tax jurisdiction where the dual resident MNE will incur various tax liabilities. These concepts, POEM and PE, can be confusing but are imperative, in order to prevent DT, and which could prejudice the relevant fiscus, as well as an attempt to avoid any conflict between the taxing regimes. An interesting facet of the POEM and PE conundrum is the interpretation by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (’the OECD’) Model Tax Convention (MTC) compared to the interpretations by the South African Revenue Service (SARS). Another area of contention for MNEs is the current enormous global focus on the concept of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), which is under great scrutiny, and is of great concern for the majority of revenue authorities. These authorities are intensifying their focus on improving and enforcing anti-avoidance provisions to prevent taxation leakage in their respective tax jurisdictions. This shift in priorities opposes one of a MNE’s main business objectives which is to maximize profits, by either diverting, extracting and/or distributing profits out of a high tax paying jurisdiction into a lower tax paying jurisdiction. This will consequently create an additional business risk which emphasises the need for international tax expertise. The international tax expert is a valuable business team member, as their knowledge and expertise is imperative for the mitigation of possible tax risks, correct interpretation and application of the relevant tax legislation on the business flows of the MNEs as a result of operational expansion or any cross-border transactions or activities. Key Words: Taxation, Tax Treaties, Agreements, BEPS, Conventions; Cross-border, Double Taxation; Dual Residency; International tax, Multinational enterprises; Permanent Establishment, Place of Effective Management; OECD Model Tax Convention; Tax Intelligence, Tax Jurisdictions

1 Abstract Spread of International Law into Decision-Making Practice of Domestic Authorities In principle international law does not impose its subjects how to achieve compliance with its international legal obligations within their jurisdiction. However, for the effectiveness of international law in each country it is the approach of legislative, executive and judiciary authorities to international obligations that is vital. The thesis focuses mainly on the judiciary, while the issues of international law application by the domestic courts have not yet been at full length described. Part One is an introduction which describes the subject of the work methodology and terminology used in its processing. The first main aim of the thesis was to examine in detail legal rules for the application of international law as they result from both constitutional and ordinary law. These rules constitute a framework within which institutions applying international law deal with it. The third part of the thesis is mainly dedicated to fulfilment of the first main aim, it is entitled The Current Application of International Law by National Authorities of the Independent Czech Republic and the Development of this Legislation. But partially also the second part, entitled Historical Development of Binding Force of International...

JUDr. Petr Kotáb International Aspects of Taxation in the Czech Republic SUMMARY Economic life of the current period is marked by high level of globalization of the economy and ever growing volume of cross-border flows of labor, goods, services and capital. In this situation, issues of international taxation affect not only sporadic cross-border transactions of selected types of subjects but virtually daily tax relations of large numbers of tax subjects, legal entities and individuals. Principles and regularities of international taxation are spreading in an ever growing extent into the intrastate level and are influencing the production of tax laws and everyday application practice of tax administrators. International aspects of taxation project into intrastate tax relations when there is a certain foreign element present in the tax relation. Such foreign element can show on the level of the subject of a tax relation (e.g. a non-resident taxpayer, permanent establishment, etc.), or the object (e.g. foreign-sourced income), or as the case may be, the tax relation content (e.g. tax liability imposed by a foreign state and the necessity to reflect it in the inland for the purposes of prevention of double taxation, e.g. by a credit method). A foreign element in the tax relation usually indicates the danger of...