Tax Law Commons^™

A Comprehensive Solution For A Targeted Problem: A Critique Of The Eu’S Home State Taxation And Ccctb Initiatives, Ilan Benshalom

Faculty Working Papers

This Article examines the European Commission's Home State Taxation and CCCTB initiatives. It argues that both proposals undermine the long-term objective of attaining a consolidated European corporate tax regime. It suggests an alternative strategy, which offers a comprehensive formulary-tax-allocation-solution in one of the hard to tax sectors, such as the financial sector. This strategy requires more efforts and political risk-taking, but would better promote the long-term objective of a consolidated EU corporate tax regime.

An edited version of this article is scheduled to be published in a future issue of European Taxation (an IBFD publication).

Carbon Tax: Ready For Prime Time?, Michael J. Zimmer

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

European And American Issues In Employee Benefits Law Compared, 41 J. Marshall L. Rev. 1189 (2008), Yves Stevens

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

Conservation Easements And Climate Change, Daniel L. Aaronson, Michael B. Manuel

Sustainable Development Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Car Flipping In The U.K.: The Vat Fraud Marketplace And Certified Solutions, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

Missing Trader Intra-Community (MTIC) fraud and its offspring carousel fraud and contra trading fraud are siphoning huge amounts of VAT revenue from the UK Treasury. This fraud is not a function of the goods involved. It is a function of the market-place. Recently another type of market-place dependent VAT fraud has taken hold in the UK - car-flipping.

In some instances the market-place where these frauds festers is a pre-existing or natural market-place, one that grows out of legitimate commercial practices. Fraudsters enter this market-place (so the argument goes) and take advantage of legitimate businesses who unwittingly get caught up …

Philosopher Kings And International Tax: A New Approach To Tax Havens, Tax Flight, And International Tax Cooperation, Steven A. Dean

Faculty Scholarship

Tax flight treaties could help to solve the $50 billion-a-year problem that tax flight (the evasion of income taxes through the use of offshore tax havens) poses for the United States. Tax flight treaties would offer tax havens a substantial portion of the increased tax revenues that they could generate by providing the United States with the enforcement assistance it needs. Those payments, potentially representing as much as half of the added tax revenue produced by tax flight treaties (and in all probability an amount that is greater than any GDP gains attributable to eliminating waste and other economic distortions …

The Application Of Tax Treaties To Investment Funds, Niccolo Pallesi

ExpressO

Among financial investors, investment funds are the ones that mostly have increased their importance in capital markets where the regulation on investment funds is still incipient. By using investment funds, individual investors can have the possibility to participate in various companies as well as in market places worldwide without the need of specific and elaborated knowledge of the same companies and markets. After an introductory chapter I start analyzing the definition and activity of an investment fund, attention is also paid to the UCITS regulation for European investment funds. In the next chapter I analyze how investment funds are taxed …

Tax Competition, Tax Arbitrage And The International Tax Regime, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Articles

In the past ten years, I have argued repeatedly that a coherent international tax regime exists, embodied both in the tax treaty network and in domestic laws, and that it forms a significant part of international law (both treaty-based and customary). The practical implication is that countries are not free to adopt any international tax rules they please, but rather operate in the context of the regime, which changes in the same ways international law changes over time. Thus, unilateral action is possible, but is also restricted, and countries are generally reluctant to take unilateral actions that violate the basic …

Hidden Foreign Aid, David Pozen

Faculty Scholarship

Few issues in global politics are as contentious as foreign aid – how much rich countries should give, in what ways, to whom. For years, it has been a commonplace that U.S. policies are stingy. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) routinely ranks the United States far behind its industrialized peers in official development assistance (ODA), measured as a percentage of gross national income (GNI). An endless parade of critics has implored the government to do more; some suggest that the Bush Administration's support for the Monterrey Consensus, which sets a goal of increasing assistance to 0.7% of …

Biometrics, Certified Software Solutions, And The Japanese Consumption Tax: A Proposal For The Tax Commission, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

Significant change is anticipated in the Japanese Consumption Tax. The Japanese Tax Commission is recommending that the rate should double, multiple rates should be employed, and the "bookkeeping method" of accounting should be abandoned in favor of the European "invoice method."

The Tax Commission faces a tax policy dilemma. The aging population drives the need for a tax increase (making the Consumption Tax an obvious target for revenue enhancement) at exactly the same time the population is shrinking in overall size, thereby reducing the number of working-consumers who can pay the higher tax.

These are dramatic changes for the Japanese …

Impersonating A Nonprofit, Alan L. Feld

Faculty Scholarship

The Senate Finance Committee minority staff report concerning Jack Abramoff's use of tax-exempt organizations details the misuse of charities and social welfare organizations for lobbying and other purposes. It shows how Abramoff moved money from clients through exempt organizations to influence legislative and administrative decisions favorable to those clients, but without disclosing the true source of the funds. In one case, money from the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, anxious to bar competition from a new casino, transferred funds through Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) to antigambling organizations associated with Ralph Reed. In other examples, money passed from clients to …

Vat? A Look Inside Canada's Experience With The Goods And Services Tax, Brandon A. Ketterman

San Diego International Law Journal

Consumption taxes have been and continue to be utilized as a staple revenue producer within systems of taxation. The value-added tax (VAT) is one form of consumption tax that has grown in popularity among nations over the last several decades. In fact, after the passage of a goods and services tax (one type of VAT) in Australia in 2000, the United States now stands alone as the only remaining OECD nation, among its 30 members, without some form of a value-added tax on consumption. As the massive topic of tax reform continually appears at the forefront of the political landscape, …

A Complete Property Right Amendment, John H. Ryskamp

ExpressO

The trend of the eminent domain reform and "Kelo plus" initiatives is toward a comprehensive Constitutional property right incorporating the elements of level of review, nature of government action, and extent of compensation. This article contains a draft amendment which reflects these concerns.

Carousel Fraud In The Eu: A Digital Vat Solution, Richard Thompson Ainsworth

Faculty Scholarship

Recent reports from the UK's Office for National Statistics estimate (as of May 11, 2006) that Missing Trader Intra-community Fraud (MTIC) may exceed 10 billion pounds this year.

Carousel fraud, a variant of MTIC where the same goods are sold over and over again, exploits the lingering non-certified, non-digital attributes of the EU VAT. The UK believes that carousel fraud cost the Exchequer between 1.12 and 1.9 billion pounds in the 2004-05 financial year. This article proposes that carousel fraud be eliminated in the EU through selective insertion of Digital VAT functionality into the present system. In other words, it …

Horizontal And Vertical Equity In Taxation As Constitutional Principles: Germany And The United States Contrasted, Henry Ordower

All Faculty Scholarship

Explores U. S. Supreme Court and German Constitutional Court decisions that apply their respective constitutions to taxation controversies, especially controversies in matters involving equal protection or due process protection.

The Dual Purpose Of The American Jobs Creation Act Of 2004, Dennis J. Kokenos

ExpressO

The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 claims to help bring offshore investments back to the United States. In reality, the AJCA does much more. The AJCA of 2004 makes adjustments to the U.S. tax code which helps bring the U.S. in line with existing international trade obligations as well as stimulating the U.S economy.

Breaking The Bank: Revisiting Central Bank Of Denver After Enron And Sarbanes-Oxley, Celia Taylor

ExpressO

No abstract provided.

A Foundation For International Taxation: The Institutional Competence Of Nations, Eric T. Laity

ExpressO

This Article proposes a conceptual foundation for the field of international tax law. The Article refers to this foundation as the institutional competence of nations in global economic development. A nation’s institutional competence is its discretion to make decisions in pursuit of our collective goal of global economic development, discretion that is subject to a number of standards and limitations.

The Article constructs the institutional competence of nations in global economic development from institutional economics, simple game theory, and the literature on social norms. The Article expresses the institutional competence of nations through standards and limitations that reduce the abuse …

Tax Havens And Public International Law: The Case Of The Netherlands Antilles, Georges A. Cavalier

ExpressO

This paper identifies changes to tax havens’ legislation as a result of pressure from rich countries exercised through the OECD. It focuses on the specific situation of the Netherlands Antilles. The paper analyzes the response given by the Netherlands Antilles to the international community through the modification of its tax agreement with the mother country in Europe, and considers whether this is a solution for adoption by other tax havens. The paper then argues that such a model is not appropriate for use in a small economy which cannot rely on a supportive mother country nor on tourism as an …

E-Commerce And The Taxation Doctrine Of Permanent Establishment In The United States And China, Susan K. Duke

Florida State University Journal of Transnational Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Remands In Trade Adjustment Assistance Cases, 39 J. Marshall L. Rev. 9 (2005), Munford Page Hall Ii

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

An Importer's Election: Whether To Invoke Attorney Advice In Defense Or To Preserve Privilege, 39 J. Marshall L. Rev. 17 (2005), Patricia M. Mccarthy

UIC Law Review

No abstract provided.

The $4 Billion Question: An Analysis Of Congressional Responses To The Fsc/Eti Dispute Under Wto Export Subsidy Standards, William Chou

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

During the decade-long relationship between the United States and the World Trade Organization (WTO), perhaps no controversy has fomented as long and bitterly as the dispute over the U.S. tax benefits for exporters. This article analyzes two competing bills before the House of Representatives, both devised to bring the United States in compliance with the WTO's ruling against the U.S. Foreign Sale Corporation (FSC) and Exterritorial Income (ETI) tax regimes as prohibited export subsidies. Hit with a $4 billion retaliatory tariff by the European Union, the House sought new tax legislation that would preserve at least some of the tax …

Criteria Of International Tax Policy, Herbert I. Lazerow

San Diego Law Review

Professor Joseph Sneed a generation ago developed seven macro-criteria for evaluating income tax changes. This Article asks whether those criteria are useful in the general field of international income tax. I conclude that Adequacy, Practicality, Equity, and Free Market Compatibility are important internationally, as is a new criterion, Balance-of-payments Enhancement, while the criteria of Reduced Economic Inequality, Stability and Political Order do not figure prominently in international tax.

Fishing For Rainbows, The Fsc Repeal And Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act, Stuart Smith

San Diego International Law Journal

On August 30, 2002, the final decision was released in the case of United States-Tax Treatment for "Foreign Sales Corporations". The World Trade Organization arbitration panel report authorizes the European Communities to levy $4.043 billion in annual trade sanctions against imports from the United States because of a provision in the U.S. tax code. "The FSC Repeal and Extraterritorial Income Exclusion Act of 2000", the most recent of 40 years worth of half-hearted attempts by the United States to comply with world trading body regulations, is the current offender. According to the arbitration panel, the act subsidizes foreign sales by …

Bridging The North/South Divide: International Redistribution And Tax Competition, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Articles

The most important social problem facing humanity at the beginning of the 21st century is the yawning divide in standards of living between the rich nations of the global North and the poor nations of the global South. The following table gives some indicia of the current gap in living standards. It shows that the majority of the population in most developing countries lives on less than two dollars a day; that in some developing countries, over a quarter of children aged 10-14 are employed in the work force; that mortality for children under five in developing countries can be …

How Long Must One Stay In The Usvi To Be Considered A "Resident" To Qualify For The 90% Residency Tax Credit?, Beckett G. Cantley

Florida State University Journal of Transnational Law & Policy

No abstract provided.

Clicks And Mortar: Taxing Multinational Business Profits In The Digital Age, Aldo Forgione

Seattle University Law Review

This Article argues that governments should abandon the treaty concept of permanent establishment and adopt international tax reforms that restore the primacy of "market country taxation of multi-national business profits promoted by domestic tax laws. Part I explores several emerging e-commerce issues that demonstrate the tension of introducing traditional tax norms to a digital environment. Part II reviews historical and recent developments in the international taxation of business profits and looks at the underlying trends and sentiments for reform of the existing system of global taxation of business income. Part III canvasses several prominent international tax reform alternatives proposed by …

Taxing International Portfolio Income, Michael J. Graetz, Itai Grinberg

Faculty Scholarship

Most analyses of the taxation of international income earned by U.S. corporations or individuals have addressed income from direct investments abroad. With the exception of routine bows to the "international tax compromise" and sporadic discussions of the practical difficulties residence countries face in collecting taxes on international portfolio income, the taxation of international portfolio income generally has been ignored in the tax literature.

Analysis and reassessment of U.S. tax policy regarding international portfolio income is long overdue. The amount of international portfolio investment and its role in the world economy has grown exponentially in recent years. In most years since …

Optimal International Taxation And Tax Competition: Overcoming The Contradictions, William B. Barker

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper presents a theory of international taxation based on a new approach to source taxation that reflects world development and synthesizes the objectives of economic efficiency, fairness to taxpayers, and fairness to governments. Adoption of this model results in the preservation of comprehensive income taxation to capital-exporting nations and an expenditure tax base for capital-importing nations. The system would reduce much of the distortion caused by tax competition, eliminating the tax incentive for businesses to use productive assets and technologies outside the country of their development and saving the jobs of many workers.