Law Commons^™

Tax Harmony: The Promise And Pitfalls Of The Global Minimum Tax, Reuven Avi-Yonah, Young Ran (Christine) Kim

Michigan Journal of International Law

The rise of globalization has become a double-edged sword for countries seeking to implement a beneficial tax policy. On one hand, there are increased opportunities for attracting foreign capital and the benefits that increased jobs and tax revenue brings to a society. However, there is also much more tax competition among countries to attract foreign capital and investment. As tax competition has grown, effective corporate tax rates have continued to be cut, creating a “race-to-the-bottom” issue.

In 2021, 137 countries forming the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS passed a major milestone in reforming international tax by successfully introducing the framework …

Tax Harmony: The Promise And Pitfalls Of The Global Minimum Tax, Reuven Avi-Yonah, Young Ran (Christine) Kim

Articles

The rise of globalization has become a double-edged sword for countries seeking to implement a beneficial tax policy. On one hand, there are increased opportunities for attracting foreign capital and the benefits that increased jobs and tax revenue brings to a society. However, there is also much more tax competition among countries to attract foreign capital and investment. As tax competition has grown, effective corporate tax rates have continued to be cut, creating a “race-to-the-bottom” issue.

In 2021, 137 countries forming the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS passed a major milestone in reforming international tax by successfully introducing the framework …

Overhaul Of The Sdt Provisions In The Wto: Separating The Eligible From The Ineligible, Md. Rizwanul Islam

Pace International Law Review

The special and differential treatment (“SDT”) provisions have been a recurring feature in the agreements of the World Trade Organization (“WTO”) treaties. However, most analysts would probably agree that the many SDT provisions have been more aspirational than operational. Hence, there is little surprise that even a selective review of the WTO jurisprudence would demonstrate that the SDT provisions have, in most cases, not done enough for their intended beneficiaries. This paper will analyze the limitations of the SDT provisions with reference to the relevant WTO jurisprudence. It will seek to explore two potential avenues of endeavoring to make the …

Price Elasticity Of Demand In The Market For Governance In Businesses Location Decisions In Oecd Nations From 2015-2019, Luke Kendall

Senior Honors Theses

This study proposes a framework of viewing the competition between governments to attract businesses into their jurisdiction as a competitive market. Literature is reviewed on the market forces and incentives of businesses and governments in location decisions. A possible gap in the literature of quantifying the price elasticity of competition between national governments for business activity is identified. OECD data is analyzed using equations supported by literature and results are evaluated to better understand the elasticity of international location decisions. The results of this study indicate that elasticity varies widely between countries, and countries with smaller economies may face more …

Investment Promotion And Facilitation For Sustainable Development, Brooke Guven

Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment Staff Publications

Investment is a critical component of sustainable development. In particular, under the right conditions, foreign direct investment (FDI) can improve economic growth and living standards, create jobs, transfer technology and know-how and result in supply chain upgrading. However, its benefits are not automatic, and, if not carefully governed, investment can result in harm to the environment, labour standards and lead to tax evasion or other undesirable outcomes. Investment promotion and investment facilitation, in turn, can help states attract, expand and retain FDI.

International Taxation In An Era Of Digital Disruption: Analyzing The Current Debate, Itai Grinberg

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

The “taxation of the digital economy” is currently at the top of the global international tax policymaking agenda. A core claim some European governments are advancing is that user data or user participation in the digital economy justifies a gross tax on digital receipts, new profit attribution criteria, or a special formulary apportionment factor in a future formulary regime targeted specifically at the “digital economy.” Just a couple years ago the OECD undertook an evaluation of whether the digital economy can (or should) be “ring-fenced” as part of the BEPS project, and concluded that it neither can be nor should …

User Participation In Value Creation, Itai Grinberg

Georgetown Law Faculty Publications and Other Works

This article examines HM Treasury’s proposal to account for the active participation of users in value creation in certain digital platforms. The first key question is whether there is any reason to believe, as HM Treasury suggests, that users only meaningfully or actively contribute to value creation in the context of certain digital platforms. The article accordingly explores the factors HM Treasury sets out for the attribution of income to active user participation, including features such as network effects, multisided business models, and a lack of physical presence in the jurisdiction of the user. It concludes that if a user …

Multinational Efforts To Limit Intellectual Property Income Shifting: The Oecd's Base Erosion And Profit Shifting (Beps) Project, Jeffrey A. Maine

Faculty Publications

Before 2017, there were two major international movements going on at the same time: (1) the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement; and (2) the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project. The movements presented a unique opportunity to consider the intersection of a behemoth multinational trade agreement and ambitious multinational efforts to close international tax loopholes.

Although the TPP is essentially dead, as newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump unsigned the TPP as a matter of unilateral Executive power, the OECD’s BEPS Project is not. Indeed, many nations have been adopting BEPS Project proposals …

Book Review: International Licensing Agreements. Edited By Gótz M. Pollzien And Eugen Langen. Indianapolis And New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Co., 2d Ed. 1971. Pp. Xlvi, 593. $35.00., William M. Poole

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Book Review: International Tax Planning. By Barry Spitz. London, England: Butterworth & Co. Ltd., 1972. Pp. Xxiii, 159. $12.15 (U.S.)., Donald O. Clark

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Regulating Foreign-Based Institutions For Collective Investment: The German Statute, The American Experience, And The Oecd Standard Rules, Charles B. Robson Jr.

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Book Review: The Gatt - Law And International Economic Organization. By Kenneth W. Dam. Chicago And London: The University Of Chicago Press, 1970. Pp. Xvii, 480. $15.00., Pasco M. Bowman Ii

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

The Merits Of Tax Competition In A Globalized Economy, David Elkins

Indiana Law Journal

Since the turn of the current century, leading transnational organizations and academic scholarship have identified tax competition among countries as one of the scourges of the international tax regime. Both the EU and the OECD have warned that tax competition erodes the tax bases of Member States and impedes their ability to provide essential services. Commentators have argued that unrestrained competition is driving tax rates on mobile sources of income to (or close to) zero, a process that jeopardizes the very existence of the welfare state, exacerbates problems of global poverty, and deprives developing countries of funds that they desperately …

Organization For Economic Co-Operation And Development - Regulation Of Chemicals - In A Council Decision, The Oecd Has Adopted Provisions Designed To Protect Human Health And The Environment Without Creating Barriers To International Chemicals Trade, Walter Ballew Iii

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Telecommunications - Joint Ventures - The Significance Of The At&T-Philips Joint Venture, Edward P. Hudson

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Sources Of Export Financing, Thomas Graham

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Annual Survey Of Developments In International Trade Law: 1986, Paul G. Justice, Hilda H. King, John R. Schneider

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Omnibus Trade And Competitiveness Act Of 1988: Putting The Brakes On Foreign Investment, Christopher J. Foreman

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

European Economic Communities - Environmental Policy - Legal Basis And International Implications Of Council Regulation On The Supervision And Control Of Shipments Of Hazardous Waste, Kurt M. Rozelsky

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Greasing The Wheels: British Deficiencies In Relation To American Clarity In International Anti-Corruption Law, Todd Swanson

Georgia Journal of International & Comparative Law

No abstract provided.

Transfer Pricing: Un Practical Manual – China, Richard Thompson Ainsworth, Andrew Shact

Faculty Scholarship

Any contemporary Chinese transfer pricing assessment needs to consider the United Nation (UN) Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing for Developing Countries released in May 2013. In particular, Chapter 10 discusses Country Practices and presents China’s most up to date transfer pricing policy statement.

China is not an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) member nor has it formally adopted the OECD’s Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations. Chapter 10 makes it very clear that China is charting a different transfer pricing course in at least nine important areas. China believes that: 1. significant comparability adjustments are …

Universal Anti-Bribery Legislation 
Can Save International Business: A Comparison Of The Fcpa And The Ukba In An Attempt To Create 
Universal Legislation To Combat
 Bribery Around The Globe, Lindsey Hills

Richmond Journal of Global Law & Business

No abstract provided.

The Oecd's Flawed And Dated Approach To Computer Servers Creating Permanent Establishments, Monica Gianni

Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law

As the digital economy changes the way that we do business, tax laws have been challenged to adapt appropriately to this nontraditional business method. International tax rules were developed in a different technological era. To accommodate electronic commerce, existing tax rules either have to be applied to electronic-commerce transactions, or new rules have to be developed. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has taken the lead in studying and recommending appropriate international taxation rules for electronic commerce. This Article focuses on the original central tax issue that the OECD considered--jurisdiction to tax income from electronic commerce based on …

Transfer Pricing: Un Guidelines -- Brazil, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

The UN Practical Manual on Transfer Pricing for Developing Countries endeavors to provide “clearer guidance on the policy and administrative aspects of applying transfer pricing analysis.” Chapter 10 is particularly noteworthy. It sets out specific country practices. The rules in Brazil, China, India and South Africa are offered as templates for developing countries to follow.

This article considers the Brazilian contribution to Chapter 10. Although some writers believe that developing countries should adopt the Brazilian model this article suggests otherwise. Even though it is a theoretically simple system, some aspects of the Brazilian model consistently work to the fiscal disadvantage …

Transfer Pricing: Data Dumps And Comparability - Us, Uk, Canadian, And Australian Case Studies, Richard Thompson Ainsworth, Andrew Shact

Faculty Scholarship

Comparability is the heart of transfer pricing. The OECD, U.K., Canadian, Australian, and U.S. transfer pricing rules all echo one another on how critically important the comparability analysis is. Performing this analysis and proving comparability, however, is a demanding exercise.

What makes proving comparability so difficult is that the analysis is two sided. Both controlled and uncontrolled transactions must be thoroughly analyzed. Just as much effort needs to be applied to determine the functions, contract terms, risks and the economic conditions for the unrelated party comparables as is spent on analyzing the related parties (taxpayers).

But there is more to …

Through The Looking Glass: Understanding Social Science Norms For Analyzing International Investment Law, Susan Franck, Calvin Garbin, Jenna Perkins

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

When social science methods are being employed in a new context — such as the assessment of international investment law — there is value in exploring the underlying assumptions and normative baselines of the enterprise. This article and response address critiques about the methodology of an article in the Harvard International Law Journal by: (1) describing the value of social science in international investment law; (2) replicating the research using new methodologies to conduct more than 20 new tests that were still unable to ascertain the existence of a reliable relationship between development status and outcomes on the basis of …

The Icsid Effect? Considering Potential Variations In Arbitration Awards, Susan Franck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The legitimacy of the World Bank's dispute resolution body - The International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) - is a matter of heated debate. Some states have alleged that ICSID is biased, withdrawn from the ICSID Convention, and advocated creating alternative arbitration systems. Using pre-2007 archival data of the population of then- known arbitration awards, this Article quantitatively assesses whether ICSID arbitration awards were substantially different from arbitration awards rendered in other forums. The Article examines variation in the amounts claimed and outcomes reached to evaluate indicators of bias. The results indicated that there was no reliable …

Mtic (Vat Fraud) In Voip - Market Size $3.3b, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

In the beginning, the VAT fraud known as missing trader intra-community (MTIC) fraud appeared to be a UK problem concentrated in the cell phone and computer chip markets. MTIC has mutated (to other commodities) and migrated (to other Member States). This paper describes how this fraud operates in the VoIP market, and how in this mutation it is no longer confined to the EU, but can infiltrate any VAT/GST anywhere.

Canada, Botswana, Japan, Iceland and Jamaica (to mention a few jurisdictions) have consumption taxes that are just as vulnerable as is the EU VAT to VoIP missing trader fraud. It …

Development And Outcomes Of Investment Treaty Arbitration, Susan Franck

Articles in Law Reviews & Other Academic Journals

The legitimacy of investment treaty arbitration is a matter of heated debate. Asserting that arbitration is unfairly tilted toward the developed world, some countries have withdrawn from World Bank dispute resolution bodies or are taking steps to eliminate arbitration. In order to assess whether investment arbitration is the equivalent of tossing a two-headed coin to resolve investment disputes, this article explores the role of development status in arbitration outcome. It first presents descriptive, quantitative research about the developmental background of the presiding arbitrators who exert particular control over the arbitration process. The article then assesses how (1) the development status …

It-Apas - Vertical Harmonization Of Transfer - Pricing Standards, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

The World Customs Organization (WCO) and the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) have begun considering the harmonization of transfer pricing norms among income tax, customs and VAT regimes. Two conferences have been organized in May of 2006 and 2007.

These conferences have concluded so far: (a) that more analysis is needed; (b) that harmonization will require adjustments on all sides; and (c) that pilot projects (real world statutory and administrative efforts to harmonize) or case studies in harmonization (hypothetical fact patterns) are needed to facilitate consideration. This paper assesses the three basic paths being pursued at the present …