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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Tax treaty law (18) |
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Principles of Tax Treaty Law (3) The treaty models of the OECD serve as the basis for most existing tax treaties worldwide. Taking them as a starting point, the lecture aims to provide the necessary understanding for a systematic approach to the legal field of tax treaties in general. It discusses basic issues such as the scope of tax treaties, their distributive rules and the methods available to eliminate double taxation, as well as other important treaty rules, including the prohibition of discrimination, the mutual agreement procedure and the exchange of information. On the one hand, the lecture is intended to create a basis for various, more specific lectures, and, on the other, to develop an understanding of the interrelations between specific treaty rules that are dealt with in other lectures.
F 09/10: November 5-7, 2009
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This course will allow students to examine the main policy and technical issues involved in the negotiation of tax treaties. It will first explore the main elements that determine a country's tax treaty policies, including the relevant features of its domestic tax system and economic factors. It will then focus on the identification of the main issues involved during the negotiation of each article of a typical tax treaty. The course will also examine the various steps for the conclusion of a tax treaty and the process of negotiation, taking into account the role of model conventions and previously concluded treaties
F 09/10: March 5-6, 2010
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Tax treaties are international treaties which must be interpreted according to international rules, as laid down in the Vienna Convention on Treaties. Furthermore, tax treaties, which are drawn up in line with the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention, contain separate interpretation guidelines in Article 3 paragraph 2 of the Model Convention. Both the content of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and the special interpretation rules of Article 3 paragraph 2 of the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention leave some room for interpretation. The lecture covers these problems, as well as the importance and implications of the OECD Commentary on the interpretation of bilateral tax treaties.
F 10/11: October 22-23, 2010
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For tax-optimized, cross-border structures, partnerships are an important means of tax planning - especially in the case of closely related companies. At the same time, in terms of corporate and tax law, the treatment is internationally heterogeneous. Thus, problems arise with respect to the application of tax treaties and the domestic tax laws of the states involved. The topics covered in the lecture include pros and cons of partnership structures in international taxation, concepts of transparency, tax treaty entitlement of partnerships, conflicts of classification, qualification and allocation when applying tax treaties, the opinion of the OECD in the Partnership Report and the Commentary, the impact on allocation of income (transfer pricing issues), and special features of silent partnerships.
F 10/11: February 11-12, 2009
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Bilateral tax treaties between industrialized countries arise in a context where the flow of investment and trade creates issues common to the tax policies of both treaty countries. Treaties between industrialized and developing countries, however, are negotiated in a sometimes dramatically different context because of the disparity in the flow of investment and trade and, therefore, income potentially subject to income taxation. This lecture will focus on the way in which such differences are reflected in model treaties developed by international organizations and the substance of treaties that have been concluded between industrialized and developing countries. Issues discussed will include the measure of corporate profits, defences to transfer pricing abuses, withholding taxes on investment income and the taxation of compensation. Issues of administrative cooperation, including information exchange and the arbitration of tax issues between treaty countries, will also be examined.
F 10/11: March 4-5, 2011
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Australia's tax treaties reflect its position in the global economy as both a significant importer of, and a significant exporter of, capital and technology. Accordingly, Australia's tax treaties include aspects of both the OECD Model Tax Convention and the UN Model. This lecture explores how Australian treaties achieve a balance between source and residence taxing rights, for example, through variations to the OECD Model definitions of permanent establishment and immovable property, and in the distribution of taxing rights over passive income and capital gains. It also looks at some of the unique features of Australian tax treaties which are designed to address possible uncertainties in the existing model treaties, such as the taxation of business profits derived through trusts. Finally, the lecture examines how Australia's tax treaty policy has evolved in response to a changing economic environment.
F 09/10: March 26, 2010
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The course provides a short introduction to doing business in general in South America, touching on the Agreements for the Protection of Foreign Investment, looking at the background to free trade initiatives in the Americas and the structure of the basis for negotiation, in order to understand which possible investment and commercial issues may arise in the area in future. The tax aspects of the investment and free trade agreements are covered. Some specific countries and their tax policies in relation to foreign investment are introduced in more depth. The trend towards tax treaties in the region is analyzed, especially the Andean Pact and the OECD Model as applied by South American countries. Some specific differences and special issues in tax treaties in the region are presented and discussed.
F 10/11: February 4, 2011
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Entertainers and athletes are among the most mobile individuals in the world. The nature of the income they earn is varied and, in some cases, substantial. The OECD Model Convention on Income and Capital has had a special provision dealing with entertainers and athletes since the original 1963 draft convention. These lectures introduce issues involved in the taxation of international entertainers, and athletes. With the help of case studies, these lectures examine the characterization (for domestic law and tax treaty purposes) of income that entertainers and athletes earn, alternative regimes that can be used by countries to tax such income, the application of EU Law to the taxation of such income, and the application of OECD Model provisions (and variations found in bilateral tax treaties).
F 09/10: April 23-24, 2010
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In international business, the determination of transfer prices is recognized as the greatest problem in the area of tax. Tax authorities worldwide are increasingly occupied with the verification of transfer prices. The course discusses the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines and the OECD Reports on the Attribution of Profits to Permanent Establishments. The practical implications of transfer pricing will be investigated with the help of case studies
F 09/10: February 26-27, 2010
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The current tax treaty practice has already been based the residence principle for a long period. This practice is rooted in reports of the League of Nations published in the 1920s. A question that can be raised is whether the concepts of the 1920s are still valid nowadays. The lecture aims at a better understanding of flaws in double tax conventions because of the application of the principle of residence, and of opportunities which the application of the principle of source or the principle of origin offers to mitigate such flaws. The principle of residence offers opportunities for tax planning without really affecting the way income is produced. It may even cause tax treaty abuse. These phenomena trigger reactions of contracting states in order to protect source state tax jurisdiction under double tax conventions. Developments in these fields will be discussed not only from the perspective of legal and economic principles, but they will also be illustrated with practical examples of tax planning and counter-reactions in order to better understand the functioning and the disfunctioning of current double tax conventions. Furthermore, developments of EC law affecting double tax conventions will also be discussed. One development is that EC law reduces the dominant position of the principle of residence in favor of the source principle. Finally, alternative tax treaty systems based on the principle of source or origin will also be discussed.
F 09/10: June 4, 2010
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The current tax treaty practice has already been based the residence principle for a long period. This practice is rooted in reports of the League of Nations published in the 1920s. A question that can be raised is whether the concepts of the 1920s are still valid nowadays. The lecture aims at a better understanding of flaws in double tax conventions because of the application of the principle of residence, and of opportunities which the application of the principle of source or the principle of origin offers to mitigate such flaws. The principle of residence offers opportunities for tax planning without really affecting the way income is produced. It may even cause tax treaty abuse. These phenomena trigger reactions of contracting states in order to protect source state tax jurisdiction under double tax conventions. Developments in these fields will be discussed not only from the perspective of legal and economic principles, but they will also be illustrated with practical examples of tax planning and counter-reactions in order to better understand the functioning and the disfunctioning of current double tax conventions. Furthermore, developments of EC law affecting double tax conventions will also be discussed. One development is that EC law reduces the dominant position of the principle of residence in favor of the source principle. Finally, alternative tax treaty systems based on the principle of source or origin will also be discussed.
F 09/10: June 4, 2010
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Although tax treaties generally seek to avoid cross-border disputes by providing a series of rules to allocate tax revenues between the contracting states, the number and magnitude of such disputes continue to grow. This lecture provides general background regarding the nature of current tax treaty disputes and the practical difficulties encountered in their resolution. It considers the tools currently available for the resolution of such disputes under bilateral tax treaties and other agreements, including the mutual agreement procedure conducted by the competent authorities, advance pricing agreements under bilateral treaties, and the EU multilateral convention on arbitration. The lecture also discusses recent OECD initiatives to improve dispute resolution and to promote the broader adoption of mandatory, binding arbitration.
F 09/10: June 5, 2010
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c/o Academy of Public Accountants,
A 1121 Vienna, Schönbrunner Strasse 222-228/1/6/3