The OECD’s guidance on combatting tax avoidance strategies associated with Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) methods is complex and accompanied by a wealth of literature. This book is the first to provide a concise and accessible overview of counter BEPS measures in the OECD Model and Commentary, allowing readers to gain a practical understanding of how the measures can impact the taxation of bilateral investments protected by tax treaties.

Over the past twenty years, foreign direct investments have spurred widespread liberalization of the foreign direct investment (FDI) regulatory framework. By opening up to foreign investors and encouraging FDI, which could result in increased capital and market access, many countries have improved the operational conditions for foreign affiliates and strengthened standards of treatment and protection. By assuring investors that their investment will be legally protected with closed bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and double taxation treaties (DTTs), this in turn creates greater interest in FDI.

The effect of the significant changes in tax law at domestic, European, and international levels on investment funds, an important part of global financial services, creates a complex environment for practitioners and a source of debate for academics and policymakers. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive legal and practical analysis of the changes to the complex multilevel tax and regulatory framework concerning different types of investment funds. The contributions, updated as of late 2017, were originally presented at a conference held at the University of Luxembourg in November 2016 under the auspices of the ATOZ Chair for European and International Taxation. The book covers the central questions arising in national law and tax policy, explores the regulatory and tax framework of the European Union (EU), and discusses the multifaceted interactions of both national and EU law with bilateral tax treaties. Through fourteen chapters following a brief introduction, leading academic experts and practising specialists provide decisive insight into: – the regulatory regime for European investment funds; – the tax law and reforms in both Luxembourg and Germany; – the role of the European Commission’s State-aid practices; – examples of case law concerning the application of non-discrimination rules to various investment vehicles; – the impact of tax-specific EU legislation, such as the Parent-Subsidiary Directive, the Tax Merger Directive, and the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive; – the availability of tax treaty protection for different collective and non-collective investment funds; – the impact of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) developments on the taxation of cross-border investments; – the value-added tax (VAT) treatment of investment funds and their managers; and – the consequences of the global drive towards automatic exchange of information relating to existing cross-border investment structures. With its particular focus on Luxembourg – the leading centre for investment funds in Europe (and second only to the United States globally) and, thus, an instructive model for domestic-level investment fund regulation and taxation – this volume reveals the common issues that arise in virtually every other jurisdiction with a sizeable fund industry. As the first in-depth treatment of the globally significant nexus between investment funds and taxation, the book will prove valuable to policymakers, practitioners, and academics in both financial services and tax law.

As a consequence of being sued by more than 20 foreign investors, India terminated close to 60 investment treaties and adopted a new Model Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) purportedly to balance investment protection with the host State’s right to regulate. This book is a critical study of India’s approach towards BITs and traces their origin, evolution, and the current state of play. It does so by locating them in India’s economic policy in general and policy towards foreign investment in particular. India’s approach towards BITs and policy towards foreign investment were consistent with each other in the periods of economic nationalism (1947–1990) and economic liberalism (1991–2010). However, post 2010, India’s approach to BITs has become protectionist while India’s foreign investment policy continues to be liberal. To balance investment protection with the State’s right to regulate, India needs to evolve its BIT practice based on the twin framework of international rule of law and embedded liberalism.

Based on a study by Zbigniew Zimny (finalized by Hamed El-Kady, et al.), this paper reassesses the role of IIAs (bilateral treaties, etc.) as determinants of FDI, reviewing a number of econometric studies on their impact.

In 2009, the United Kingdom changed from a worldwide to a territorial tax system, abolishing dividend taxes on foreign repatriation from many low-tax countries. This paper assesses the causal effect of territorial taxation on real investments, using a unique dataset for multinational affiliates in 27 European countries and employing the difference-in-difference approach. It finds that the territorial reform has increased the investment rate of UK multinationals by 15.7 percentage points in low-tax countries. In the absence of any significant investment reduction elsewhere, the findings represent a likely increase in total outbound investment by UK multinationals.

Explains the concepts that underlie international tax law and double tax treaties and provides an insight into how international tax policy, law and practice operate to ultimately impose tax on international business and investment.