As a matter of policy, there is a sound theoretical basis (namely the benefits theory) which justifies source taxation when non-residents conduct business with consumers in the market jurisdiction.This justification has long been recognised from the earliest days of tax theories but more...

On January 28, 2003 changes were made to the Commentary on Article 1 which deals with the improper use of double tax conventions. Most countries, generally speaking, seem to accept that the general anti-avoidance rules will operate and can be reconciled with the provisions of their double tax...

This paper considers New Zealand's hybrid tax credit system consisting principally of a credit system combined with exemption features in respect of certain classes of income, both of which aim to provide relief to minimise the impact of foreign income being taxed in a foreign jurisdiction as...

This article examines two broad areas of capital gains tax (CGT) design in respect of the taxation of non-residents. The first area relates to the domestic design of the tax and focuses on whether a CGT should apply to all assets held by non-residents or to some limited subset of those assets...

This article discusses the current state of tax treaty interpretation in New Zealand with particular reference to a recent decision which has attracted attention both here in New Zealand and overseas. The case concerned whether a New Zealand resident was entitled to a tax sparing credit under...

Hybrid entities give rise to international tax problems, and it must be acknowledged, opportunities. Why is this so? This is because, at the heart of the phenomenon, different countries tax systems treat hybrid entities in fundamentally different ways allocating income to different parties. The...

Tax avoidance and tax evasion cause major problems to the assessment and collection of tax and invariably attack the integrity of any tax system. Denis Healey, former UK Chancellor of the Exchequer once said “The difference between tax avoidance and tax evasion is the thickness of a prison...

This article tries to find a new way through old arguments about whether or not New Zealand should have a realization-based capital gains tax. Instead of revisiting the first-principles analysis of the costs and benefits of a capital gains tax, it starts by observing that many countries have...