Overview of subjects and teachers
(subject to change)
Week 1 – Tax Treaties
Monday 24 July 2017
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 & Shaomei Chen
Tuesday 25 July 2017
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 & Shaomei Chen
Wednesday 26 July 2017
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 & Shaomei Chen
Thursday 27 July 2017
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 & Shaomei Chen
Friday 28 July 2017
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.
teachers: Prof. Kees van Raad & Shaomei Chen
Week 2 – Advanced Subjects
Monday 31 July 2017
Five fundamental rules on tax treaty application. Triangular cases and beneficial ownership
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. The insight gained from this discussion is subsequently employed in analyzing how two or more tax treaties apply in triangular situations. Finally, we will analyze the beneficial ownership requirement for the reduction of taxation of dividends, interest and royalties in the state of source. While the term ‘beneficial owner’ was introduced in the OECD Model Convention in 1977, its meaning remained rather obscure until the 2014 update of the OECD Commentary.
teacher: Prof. Kees van Raad
Tuesday 1 August & Wednesday 2 August 2017
Advanced tax treaty case studies
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: Siddarth Parekh & Suhas Sagar
Thursday 3 August & Friday 4 August 2017
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 7 August – Friday 11 August 2017
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
teachers: Aditya Panse, Ivan Zammit & Sam Sim