Papers & Reports

This article explores whether international tax law is part of public international law. While international lawyers typically view international tax law as a subset of international law, international tax lawyers often see themselves primarily as tax specialists rather than international law experts. This distinction arises because international tax law focuses on concepts like residence and source jurisdiction, rather than nationality and territoriality, indicating substantive differences. 

This paper questions the effectiveness of bilateral investment treaties (BITs) in protecting investors from the qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (QDMTT) under Pillar 2.

This is the sixth edition of Corporate Tax Statistics, an annual publication that brings together information on corporate taxation and base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) practices that previously were unavailable to tax policy researchers and policymakers. This includes data on corporate tax rates, revenues, effective tax rates (ETR), tax incentives for research and development (R&D) and innovation, and withholding taxes amongst other data series. Corporate Tax Statistics also includes anonymised and aggregated Country-by-Country Reporting (CbCR) data providing an overview on the global tax and economic activities of thousands of large multinational enterprise groups perating worldwide.

This article argues that market jurisdictions' taxing rights under Pillar One are justified by widely accepted principles in international taxation. These principles—such as ability to pay, the benefits principle, and economic allegiance—provide a normative basis for tax jurisdiction and are essential for the legitimacy and equity of the international tax regime. Despite criticisms of their vagueness and overlaps, the benefits principle and economic allegiance play a crucial role in designating countries with a legitimate claim to tax international income. The article contends that a principled allocation of taxing rights is not only desirable but a moral necessity for international coordination.

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In this symposium paper, the UF Tax Incubator working group examines some of the problems with the U.S. transfer pricing rules and suggests incremental legislative changes to improve the functioning of those rules.

This document provides guidance clarifying and simplifying the application of the global minimum tax and an overview of the streamlined process for recognising qualified status for the legislation of jurisdictions implementing the Global Anti-Base Erosion (GloBE) Rules.

This document sets out the fourth set of Administrative Guidance released by the Inclusive Framework. It includes guidance on application of the recapture rule applicable to deferred tax liabilities (DTL), including how to aggregate DTL categories and methodologies for determining whether a DTL reversed within five years. This guidance also clarifies how to determine deferred tax assets and liabilities for GloBE purposes when the rules result in divergences between GloBE and accounting carrying value of assets and liabilities. It also includes further guidance on cross-border allocation of current and deferred taxes, allocation of profits and taxes in certain structures involving Flow-through Entities, and the treatment of securitisation vehicles.

Generative artificial intelligence (gen AI) holds immense potential to boost productivity growth and advance public service delivery, but it also raises profound concerns about massive labor disruptions and rising inequality. This note discusses how fiscal policies can be employed to steer the technology and its deployment in ways that serve humanity best while cushioning the negative labor market and distributional effects to broaden the gains. Given the vast uncertainty about the nature, impact, and speed of developments in gen AI, governments should take an agile approach that prepares them for both business as usual and highly disruptive scenarios.

This paper attempts to estimate the tax revenues to be gained by the Member States of ATAF, WATAF, AU and the South Centre under the Amount A and an alternative stylized DST taxation regime. Our research demonstrates that the comparative revenue effects of the Amount A and DST taxation regimes largely depend on (a) the mix of relevant domestic economic activities at market jurisdictions (i.e., revenues sourced to the country as a market jurisdiction under Amount A and the level of revenues from automated digital services generated in the country), (b) design details of the DST regime such as the DST tax rate and the nature of activities to be taxed and (c) the relief from double taxation, if any, countries will grant to domestic and foreign taxpayers under DST.

In adopting resolution 78/230, “Promotion of inclusive and effective international tax cooperation at the United Nations,” the General Assembly emphasized that developing a United Nations framework convention on international tax cooperation is needed in order to strengthen international tax cooperation and make it fully inclusive and more effective. Therefore, the General Assembly established a Member State-led, open-ended ad hoc intergovernmental committee for the purpose of drafting terms of reference for a United Nations framework convention on international tax cooperation. The ad hoc intergovernmental committee recommends for consideration by the General Assembly these draft terms of reference.