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Taxation-Transnational Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Taxation-Transnational

Hanging Together: A Multilateral Approach To Taxing Multinationals, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah Jun 2016

Hanging Together: A Multilateral Approach To Taxing Multinationals, Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Michigan Business & Entrepreneurial Law Review

The recent revelation that many multinational enterprises (MNEs) pay very little tax to the countries they operate in has led to various proposals to change the ways they are taxed. Most of these proposals, however, do not address the fundamental flaws in the international tax regime that allow companies like Apple or Starbucks to legally avoid taxation. In particular, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been working on a Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project and is supposed to make recommendations to the G20, but it is not clear yet whether this will result in a …


Tax Treaties As A Network Product, Tsilly Dagan Jan 2016

Tax Treaties As A Network Product, Tsilly Dagan

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

The copiousness of tax treaties is often presented as proof, not only of their success but also of their desirability. In focusing on alleviating double taxation by allocating tax revenues, however, the treaties project is a missed opportunity. This article explains that an international tax standard is a network product and uses network theory to explore the potential advantages and drawbacks of the tax treaty network in entrenching such a standard. Networks facilitate stability and self-enforcement. By joining (and remaining in) a network, users benefit from the compatibility with other users; this, in turn, incentivizes new users to join and …


The Two Faces Of The Single Tax Principle, Daniel Shaviro Jan 2016

The Two Faces Of The Single Tax Principle, Daniel Shaviro

Brooklyn Journal of International Law

Some argue that a “single tax principle,” said to underlie tax treaties, requires that cross-border income should generally be taxed once, rather than twice or not at all. Even if one accepts this principle, it is important to recognize the difference between “upside” departures, which occur when the same dollar of income is taxed more than once, and “downside” departures, which occur when it is not taxed at all. This article argues that a focus on barring upside departures from the single tax principle can be quite misguided. While over-taxing cross-border activity, relative to that occurring in one country, may …