Selected tax systems
Anti-avoidance measures Tax law of the EU Tax treaty law International tax planning International tax policy Supplementary courses Master's thesis 
 
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International tax policy (4) |
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Comparative Corporate Tax Policies (2) The course is aimed at those students who, having taken domestic and international tax courses, are interested in understanding how tax systems compete and evolve: the course provides an introduction to the comparative dimensions of tax law and endeavors to bridge the gap between domestic and international taxation. We will focus mainly on selected issues of corporate taxes having an international impact and use a comparative approach to analyze the evolution and circulation of tax models (intra-group dividends, tax leverage, tax consolidation, corporate reorganizations). In this approach, tax reforms are viewed as the result of the selection through legal transplants and similar techniques, by domestic policy-makers, of alternative solutions circulating in the market for tax ideas. We will see how domestic systems can be viewed as the outcome of competitive evolution and traced back to tax models addressing common policy issues. We will also consider certain "top-down constraints" in the EU process of tax coordination, with specific attention to the so-called "negative integration" prompted by the leading cases of the European Court of Justice in tax matters protecting the four freedom enshrined in the EC Treaty. We will study the arguments and the reasoning adopted by the ECJ in these cases and their impact, comparing them with the US Supreme Court's tax jurisprudence. Finally, we will combine the comparative/evolutionary approach and the case method to depict an evolutionary map for EU corporate taxes which reveals a "common core" in respect to cross-border tax consolidation of groups of companies; within this framework we will consider the EU proposal for a common consolidated tax base (CCCTB) and the US proposals for adopting formulary apportionment.
F 10/11: October 15-16, 2010
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Tax Policy and Tax Planning in Europe (2) Enterprises operating across borders in Europe are confronted with heterogeneous corporate taxation despite EU-wide tax harmonization. This can be mainly put down to the fact that tax sovereignty has basically rested with the Member States, despite competences being passed on to the European Union. Within their retained national sovereignty, in line with targets defined by them and according to their traditions, the Member States collect taxes differently. Enterprises have to adapt their organization, finance and channels of distribution to the range of tax conditions in the Member States and aim to optimize their tax situation by considering all other company objectives. With the help of case studies, this course looks F 09/10: December 11-12, 2009 at determining goals and means of tax planning within the EU.
F 09/10: December 11-12, 2009
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WTO and Tax Policy (1) Tariffs and other indirect taxes, whether applied at the border or internally, have long been subject to the binding multilateral rules embodied in the GATT. But in recognition of the fact that tax measures can be used as substitutes for other types of protection and government assistance, direct as well as indirect taxation is coming under increased scrutiny at the WTO. This recognition is reflected in several of the multilateral agreements negotiated under the Uruguay Round, notably those concerning subsidies and trade-related investment measures (TRIMs). These new agreements reflect the growing realization on the part of national governments that multilateral rules need to play an increasingly important role in regulating the use of tax measures, especially where these measures affect the international movement of goods, services, capital and persons. As a consequence of these agreements, disputes concerning taxation are becoming more frequent at the WTO. In particular, the widely-followed ruling by the WTO's Dispute Settlement Body against the United States concerning the latter's FSC/ ETI scheme, which led to the largest retaliation award ever authorized in a dispute at the WTO, confirmed (if there were ever any doubt) that, generally speaking, direct taxes, like indirect taxes (including tariffs), are subject to the multilateral rules of the WTO, notwithstanding efforts by tax authorities to secure specific exemptions for certain direct tax measures in these agreements. This ruling reconfirmed the traditional distinction under international trade rules between direct and indirect taxes, especially with respect to how such taxes should be treated under the subsidy and border tax adjustment rules of the WTO. It would be not be surprising if other WTO-inconsistent direct tax measures were identified in the future, leading to further disputes among WTO members. Multilateral WTO rules can therefore be expected to continue to be an important factor in determining how members' shape their tax policies, as they will undoubtedly want to avoid having their tax policies successfully challenged in the WTO. This lecture provides an overview of the extent to which taxation is subject to WTO rules. It also refers to some selected disputes between Members and rulings by the WTO. In addition, it focuses on some tax issues that have been identified in recent Trade Policy Reviews; the tax policies and measures involved do not necessarily contravene WTO rules..
F 09/10: May 22, 2010
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Recent Trends in EU Tax Law (1) The current trends in EU tax law and the potential for enhancing a common tax policy will be examined in the light of the experience of the previous decades. In doing so, the main emphasis is on direct taxes. The budgetary autonomy of the individual Member States will have to be balanced against tax harmonization in the Internal Market, as well as the demands of the European Union to have its own financial resources. This course will tackle the conflicts between national sovereignty and "Europeanization", as well as between the subsidiarity principle and the increasing need for EU-wide coordination as a result of ECJ decisions. Particularly after the recent enlargements of 2004 and 2007, the important question arises of whether the lawmaking procedure applicable to taxation is still appropriate; it has remained unchanged since the original Treaty of Rome (1957) and has not been affected by the modifications of the institutional framework made by the Treaty of Lisbon (2007). Another question which will be addressed is whether and how, besides the need for generating revenue for public expenditure, taxation could be used at EU level to achieve objectives of other (EU) policies.
F 09/10: June 12, 2010
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c/o Academy of Public Accountants,
A 1121 Vienna, Schönbrunner Strasse 222-228/1/6/3