Overview of subjects and teachers
(subject to change)
Week 1 – Tax Treaties
Monday 15 January 2018
Key concepts of international tax law
First, we will explore why and how countries tax cross-border income and the double taxation that will typically result therefrom (juridical and economic double taxation). Next, the various methods to relieve juridical double taxation will be examined: both their operation and their advantages & disadvantages. Finally, a brief overview is presented of the types of relief countries may offer regarding economic double taxation.
teachers: Prof. Kees van Raad & TBA
Tuesday 16 January 2018
Introduction to tax treaties & treaty residence
The interaction between the distributive articles and the double taxation relief provisions will be examined and explained, along with the key concepts of residence and source. ‘Residence’ will be further examined in some detail.
teachers: Prof. Kees van Raad & TBA
Wednesday 17 January 2018
Business profits taxation under tax treaties
The main topics of this comprehensive subject that will be visited include the contents and application of the distributive rules of OECD Model Article 7: the main rule and the exception if business is conducted through a `permanent establishment´ (PE) in the other state. Further, the concept of PE will be examined in some detail (physical PE, project PE, Agency PE; other non-OECD types of PE).
teachers: Prof. Kees van Raad & TBA
Thursday 18 January 2018
Dividends, interest & royalties and immovable property income & capital gains under tax treaties
The tax treaty rules on investment income vary with the nature of the investment. Immovable property income is typically subject to ordinary taxation in the source country whereas income from intangible rights (shares, debts, intellectual property rights) is usually subject to flat-rate gross-basis taxation in the source country with the residence country taxing it again with a tax credit provided for the source country tax. The taxation of investment income gives rise to numerous theoretical and practical issues the most important ones of which will be touched upon in this day’s topic.
teachers: Prof. Kees van Raad & Carlos Gonzalez Lerena (?)
Friday 19 January 2018
Income from employment, pensions, etc. under tax treaties
The grown mobility of labor has greatly increased the importance of OECD Model Articles 15 through 20, each of which deals with a particular type of service income. The main rules are laid down in Article 15 which gives rise to a variety of important issues in international tax practice. In addition to an analysis of some of these issues, other points arising under the rules on the remuneration of directors, pensions, and the income of artistes and sportsmen will be discussed.
Five fundamental rules on tax treaty application
The interaction between domestic tax law (on which a country’s actual taxation is based) and a tax treaty is quite particular, and in tax practice often gives rise to misunderstanding and mistakes. Today’s topic deals with this issue in a detailed and analytical fashion.
teachers: Prof. Kees van Raad & TBA
Week 2 – Advanced subjects
Monday 22 January & Tuesday 23 January 2018
Advanced international tax cases
The cases (based on personal practice of the teachers and on court decisions) will deal with a variety of issues that typically arise in the application of tax treaties, and that will deal inter alia with the points that are listed below. These cases will be used to discuss and analyze the general tax treaty rules that apply in those instances and will also cover some of the issues dealt with in the October 2015 (final) BEPS Action reports.
• The creation (and avoidance) of a Permanent Establishment
• Beneficial ownership and the relevant treaty anti-avoidance provisions
• Double taxation relief and non-discrimination
• Internationally mobile employees
teachers: TBA
Wednesday 24 January 2018
The OECD/G20 Multilateral Instrument
The final reports of the OECD/G20 BEPS project proposed many changes both to domestic tax law and tax treaties. The treaty changes comprise both compulsory minimum standards (Actions 6 and 14) and optional changes (Actions 2, 6 and 7). Pursuant to the Action 15 final report, the treaty changes are going to be effected through the so-called Multilateral Instrument (MLI). Signatory countries will be able through this instrument to effectively amend their tax treaties with a single stroke through the MLI. However, both the contents and the operational rules of the MLI are quite complex. This day’s class will explain how the procedural and substantive rules of the MLI operate.
teacher: TBA
Thursday 25 January & Friday 26 January 2018
International tax planning
During the last two decades tax practice has become increasingly international. This course provides a survey of basic techniques employed in international tax planning. It covers basic tax planning techniques for multinational groups, with insights in the domestic legislation of major economies and case law on the subject. Supply chain management structures are discussed, taking into account the basic principles of domestic legislations and their interaction with tax treaties. It provides detailed analyses of acquisition techniques, with a special focus on private equity and venture capital. By the end of the course students have gained a thorough knowledge of the principles underlying international tax planning, how to apply them in practice and what issues must be taken into account when developing or examining tax planning structures.
teacher: Mario Petriccione (KPMG, London)
Week 3 – Transfer Pricing
Monday 29 January – Friday 2 February 2018
OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines
• Introduction to the arm’s length principle
• Traditional transaction methods & transactional profit methods
•Comparability analysis & intangible property
• Intragroup services & cost contribution agreements (CCAs)
• Business restructuring & TP dispute resolution
teacher: TBA