Cross-border economic activity is gaining more and more importance. This is especially true for the border region between Germany and the Netherlands. The GD Tax Centre was founded to research on the taxation of such activities in 2012. The GD Tax Centre brought together renowned scientists and a significant number of emerging young talents from both sides of the border over a period of three years. This anthology represents some of the research results of the GD Tax Centre. Further research results have been made public via events, presentations or academic publications and a variety of other ways. It consists of many different articles, which mainly discuss topics of cross-border business activities and compare the tax treatment in Germany and the Netherlands. An enormous part of this book focuses on the new German-Dutch tax treaty, which hopefully will enter into force in January 2016. Additionally some articles concern a more general or even a more specific research question. This project was kindly supported by: University of Osnabrück, Tilburg University, University of Münster, PwC, Hartmann & Kiwit, De Kok, Provincie Gelderland, Provincie Overijssel, Euregio, Niedersächsisches Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Verkehr, Ministerium für Wirtschaft, Energie, Bauen, Wohnen und Verkehr des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Interreg Deutschland-Nederland, European Regional Development Fund.

Although still under development, Pillar 2 of the OECD Global Anti-Base Erosion Model Rules is already posing significant challenges for taxation authorities worldwide. Intended to establish a floor in the possibilities for countries to compete for corporate investment with each other in the field of corporate income taxation, the Pillar 2 Rules arising from the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework have been agreed on by 140 countries. This book provides the first in-depth survey of the implications of the Rules for all stakeholders, with detailed annotations by nineteen renowned experts in the field of multinational corporate taxation who describe the relevant provisions with examples and considerations addressing their scope, functioning, and interaction. Undergirded by a comprehensive discussion of the Rules, their technical operation, and the administrative guidance provided by OECD, topics covered include the following: definitions of tax terms for Pillar 2 purposes; computation of income or loss, adjusted covered taxes, effective tax rate, and top-up tax; jurisdictional blending and loss offsets; effect of corporate restructurings and holding structures; excluded categories of income; carve-out opportunities under the Substance-Based Income Exclusion (SBIE); transitional country-by-country and time-limited safe harbours; and differences and interactions between the OECD Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) and both the EU Pillar 2 Directive and the US Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) regimes. It has been estimated that the GloBE reform would produce a worldwide additional tax revenue of USD 200 billion annually. It has thus become imperative for taxation authorities, tax practitioners, and multinational corporate counsel to become as aware as possible of the intricacies of the Pillar 2 Rules, and for this reason, this detailed discussion and analysis will be greatly appreciated by taxation professionals worldwide.

This book is the result of a 4-year research project conducted at the Faculty of Law of the University of Luxembourg. It explores the legal value and enforceability of tax circulars and tax rulings in Luxembourg domestic law in light of the principle of legitimate expectations and related principles. After studying the historical roots of both interpretative acts, this research questions the level of protection taxpayers enjoy when relying on circulars and tax rulings and contains a review of decades of administrative case-law to assess the judicial discourse on taxpayers’ rights to certainty. This book further investigates the case of circulars and tax rulings that contain interpretations of tax laws that are contrary to the law (contra legem) and builds upon the existing normative framework to introduce proposals addressing issues of uncertainty and inequality taxpayers are likely to suffer when relying on such interpretative acts. Prix Pierre Pescatore de la Faculté de Droit de Luxembourg (École doctorale de droit).

The Law of Double Taxation Conventions Cross-border activities or transactions may trigger tax liability in two or more jurisdictions. In order to mitigate the financial burden resulting from these situations, States have entered into numerous double taxation conventions, which provide for rules that allocate the taxing rights between the contracting states. This handbook aims at providing an introduction to the law of double taxation conventions. It is designed for students – irrespective of their national background, but the author believes that it will also be of great help for tax experts who wish to know more about double taxation conventions, as well as for international law experts who wish to understand more about tax law. The handbook does not consider one jurisdiction in particular but rather takes examples from a wide range of different countries and their jurisdictions. It includes an overview of the problem of double taxation, the state practice in the conclusion of double tax conventions and their effects, the interpretation of double taxation conventions and treaty abuse. Furthermore, this updated handbook takes new developments into account occurred since the last edition of the book from 2013, in particular also the changes through OECD’s BEPS project and the Multilateral Instrument. It deals with the latest versions of the OECD Model Tax Conventions on Income and on Capital and the UN Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries, both published in 2017, as well as the latest version of the OECD Model Double Taxation Convention on Estates and Inheritances and on Gifts.

This report presents studies and data available regarding the existence and magnitude of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), and contains an overview of global developments that have an impact on corporate tax matters.

This book discusses the practical issues faced by the banks, financial institutions, companies engaging in leasing as a form of asset financing, and their tax advisers. The book elaborately deals with the divergent tax treatment in the five most important leasing jurisdictions (ie, US, Japan, Germany, UK and Netherlands) in respect of transaction characterization, depreciation, income-recognition and anti-avoidance rules, as well as divergence in the relevant bilateral tax treaty provisions. Further, the book investigates how the parties to a cross-border leasing transaction may obtain tax advantages due to such divergent tax treatments, and whether and to what extent the general or specific anti-avoidance rules in the jurisdictions may neutralize the tax arbitrage opportunities. Finally, it examines how the framework of the EC Treaty may be relevant for cross-border leasing transactions between the EC Member States.

Tax treaty law and EU tax law in connection with hybrid entities Hybrid entities have traditionally been used as an avenue for international tax planning, and extending benefits under tax treaties to such entities has been a source of controversy for many years now. Although the OECD Partnership Report provided solid policy footing on this issue, there was still no common legal basis that countries could rely on for such positions. The increasing focus of countries towards the curbing of tax avoidance and abuse involving hybrid mismatch arrangements culminated in a specific action plan in the BEPS Project being dedicated to the design of domestic rules and the development of treaty provisions that would neutralize the tax effects of such arrangements. This volume provides an in-depth analysis of various aspects of this topic. It is divided into two parts – the first dealing exclusively with tax treaty issues arising in connection with hybrid entities and the second dealing with EU tax law issues surrounding hybrid entities. The former part comprises chapters analysing how tax treaties have historically dealt with this issue with a focus on domestic court jurisprudence, the positions in the OECD and the UN Model Conventions, the developments that have come about owing to the BEPS Project, and the impact of several existing measures, regimes, and vehicles on these tax treaty provisions. The latter part comprises chapters on how hybrid entities are dealt with under primary EU law, under various secondary law directives including the newly enacted Anti-Tax Avoidance Directives, and an analysis of policy solutions offered in this direction.