The existence of different tax regimes and corporate rates of income tax between countries has given rise to international tax arbitrage and transfer pricing schemes. The objective of these schemes has been to minimize income tax expense and tax liabilities of multinational enterprises (MNEs)....

Sections HH 1 and HH 8 of the New Zealand Income Tax Act 1976 contain a special regime for the taxation of trusts. Income that is distributed by the trustee is taxed in the hands of the beneficiary, and income that is accumulated is taxed to the trustee. The mere fact of the trustee being...

One of the key characteristic features of the recent globalized world is cross-border investments. Due to this fact foreign investors and their investments in host countries need appropriate protection. Alongside with legal issues of protection of investors, another important issue arises too,...

This chapter for a forthcoming text on investment promotion explains the concept of “luring with tax”. It first lays out in broad strokes how nation states compete with each other for direct and portfolio investment using their tax systems. It then analyzes whether using the tax system as an...

U.S. taxpayers and the IRS increasingly have to take into account the interactions between U.S. and foreign laws, but they have paid little attention to the administrative law backgrounds of foreign tax laws. In a growing range of cases, the need for such attention has become urgent. This...

This paper examines the investments made by China in key African countries and analyses the effects of such investment on the tax base of such African countries. The aim of this analysis is to determine whether the costs of such investment are commensurate to the benefits derived, or to be...

Developing countries need fiscal revenue to build their infrastructure, achieve energy security and environmental sustainability, and provide social services necessary for human development. While trade and investment treaties have typically been assumed to be tax revenue-neutral, economic...

Trade and investment treaties have proliferated throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Their dispute resolution mechanisms are important in entrenching market access commitments, especially when providing for direct claims by firms against states. But the Global Financial Crisis has also heightened...

Increasingly linked by regional and global ties, national economies depend more than ever on international investments and trade. While trade and investment have become international, however, taxation has remained national, preserving and strengthening one of the few remaining barriers to...

The Department of Finance (Canada) appointed an Advisory Panel on Canada’s System of International Taxation (the ‘Advisory Panel’) to review and recommend changes to Canada’s international tax regime. This report provides background research to assist the Advisory Panel with its...