Back in 2014 I was in touch with Nairobi-based Tax Justice Network Africa, as they prepared to take the Kenyan government to court over its tax treaty with Mauritius, signed in 2012. The treaty seemed a pretty poor deal for Kenya, lacking adequate anti-abuse protection, preventing Kenya from imposing withholding tax on technical fees, and… Continue reading Unprecedented: Kenya-Mauritius tax treaty ratification struck down in court
Category: Tax treaties
Transnational expertise and the expansion of the international tax regime
Hearson, M, 2018. Transnational expertise and the expansion of the international tax regime: imposing ‘acceptable’ standards. Review of International Political Economy 25(5):647-671. We are living through a period of instability and change in the international tax regime, perhaps unprecedented in its depth and duration. It’s driven by economic and political changes, such as austerity politics, the digitisation… Continue reading Transnational expertise and the expansion of the international tax regime
The European Union’s tax treaties with developing countries: leading by example?
Yesterday a report I wrote for the European United Left/Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) group in the European Parliament was published. It was used as input for a hearing of the Parliament’s TAX3 committee, at which Hannah Tranberg from ActionAid, Eric Mensah from the Ghana Revenue Authority and UN Tax Committee, and Sandra Gallina of DG Trade… Continue reading The European Union’s tax treaties with developing countries: leading by example?
“A gathering of international chatterers for the purpose of chattering.” The birth of the OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs.
In my previous post I explored the United Nations’ brief post-war flirtation with a Fiscal Commission, which came stuttering to a halt in 1951 due, it seemed, to the lack of a compelling purpose that might have motivated states to fight to retain it. The United Kingdom had supported a Russian proposal to wind up… Continue reading “A gathering of international chatterers for the purpose of chattering.” The birth of the OECD’s Committee on Fiscal Affairs.
The Colombia UK tax treaty: 80 years in the making
Hearson, M, 2017. The UK-Colombia Tax Treaty: 80 Years in the Making. British Tax Review (4):375-384. Today at 2.30pm, the UK parliament’s Third Delegated Legislation Committee will debate tax treaties with Lesotho and Colombia. It will be interesting to see how much debate really takes place, a matter on which I’ve commented before once or… Continue reading The Colombia UK tax treaty: 80 years in the making
Certainty in the tax treaty regime
Here’s the text and slides of a talk I gave yesterday at an event called Harnessing the Commonwealth Advantage in International Trade. I want to talk today about issues related to tax treaties in developing countries, and their impact on tax certainty for multinational investors. To do this I think we have to consider two… Continue reading Certainty in the tax treaty regime
Martin Hearson 