'Limits to globalisation: some implications for taxation, tax
policy, and the developing world'. LSE law, society and economy working paper
series, 3/2012 (2012)
Globalisation characterised by a world of highly mobile capital
and flexible transnational corporations, is said to have radically limited the
power of national governments to tax. This article discusses how we should look
at international tax policy in light of the realities of globalisation by
considering the differences between economic, legal, policy and other discourses
on taxation. The policy discourse can offer new perspectives on the old question
of the choice between source and residence taxation in terms of tax fairness,
and offers a new criterion: the participation principle. This principle provides
a new understanding of some concerns of developing countries, traditionally
viewed as preferring source taxation. The principle also shows that the rise of
digital goods does not simply shift the location of taxed activities, but also
offers creative opportunities for the developing world.
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'Interpreting exceptional VAT legislation: or, are there
principles in Pringles?' B.T.R. 2010, 6, 699-716.
Summarises the argument of John Avery Jones in favour of
principles-based drafting and interpretation of tax statutes, exemplified by the
application of the EU VAT system in the UK. Considers, with reference to the
Court of Appeal decision in Procter & Gamble UK v Revenue and Customs
Commissioners on the VAT status of Pringles snacks, the approach to be adopted
when faced with rules operating beyond the scope of such principles, including
the extent to which the principles may continue to provide guidance, and how
direct application of semantic rules may provide increased certainty.
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'Mobilx Ltd (In Administration) and others v HMRC: is this the
end of fraudulent evasion of VAT?' B.T.R. 2010, 5, 492-500.
Discusses the Court of Appeal decision in Mobilx Ltd (In
Administration) v Revenue and Customs Commissioners on whether, following the
European Court of Justice ruling in Kittel v Belgium (C-439/04), input VAT
claims were correctly disallowed on the ground that the traders knew or should
have known that the transactions were connected with VAT fraud. Reviews the
complexities of the test formulated in Kittel, its main elements and the
importance of the extent of trader knowledge. Considers whether Moses LJ's
approach to the test in Mobilx represents a correct application of its
principles.
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‘United Kingdom Country Report’ in G. Maisto (ed.), Tax
Treaties and Domestic Law (Amsterdam: IBFD Publications, 2006)
Tax Treaties and Domestic Law provides
an in-depth analysis of the relationships between tax
treaties and domestic law. It begins from an analysis of
the topic from a constitutional and an international
point of view, with a particular emphasis on the
provisions laid down by Articles 26 and 27 of the Vienna
Convention on the Law of Treaties.
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‘Influence of Inflation’, in P. Essers and A. Rijkers (eds), The Notion of
Income from Capital
(Amsterdam: IBFD Publications, 2005) pp. 249-262
One of the most difficult questions faced in tax law is how
to determine the taxable base. Starting from the ability-to-pay principle,
income is generally considered to be the best indicator to measure the
ability to pay taxes. The main question, however, is how income should be
defined. Particularly the notion of income from capital causes many
problems. Ordinary workers are bearing the burden of the fact that capital
owners can no longer be taxed because of globalization and information
technology. These problems were discussed in depth during the 2003
conference of the European Association of Tax Law Professors (EATLP) in
Cologne. Published in cooperation with EATLP, this book contains the
proceedings of this conference.
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‘National Report United Kingdom’, in W. Schön (ed.), Tax Competition in
Europe (Amsterdam: IBFD Publications, 2003) pp. 479-518
This book, covers the proceedings of the 2002 conference of the European
Association of Tax Law Professors (EATLP), providing an in-depth analysis of
tax competition in Europe. Focusing on the political, economic and legal
implications of international tax competition in their respective countries,
academic tax lawyers from 16 European countries presented their national
reports. The main features of these national reports are analysed, and the
general aspects as well as the advantages of tax competition are discussed.
Finally, tax competition is examined from an EU perspective and the
harmonization effects of state aid rules in the field of tax law are
discussed.
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‘VAT Supplies of Services: A Definition in Search of a Meaning’, in A. Lymer and
D. Salter (eds),
Contemporary Issues in Taxation Research (Aldershot:
Ashgate, 2003) pp. 169-200
‘Ian Roxan undertakes a thorough analysis of the meaning of
“supplies of services” for the purposes of value added tax in the United
Kingdom. In view of the increasing economic importance of supplies of
services, his analysis is timely. At the outset, he points out that the
definition of “supplies of services” contained in Article 6 of the Sixth
Directive is deceptively simple .... Thereafter, the truth of this statement
is borne out as he explores the role of the definition in determining
taxability (especially in relation to financial intermediation), identifies
three broad categories of “services” that might fall within this residual
definition, and shows that this definition has been given more substance
than is immediately apparent by various decisions of the European Court of
Justice.’ from the ‘Introduction’ to Contemporary Issues in Taxation
Research
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‘General Anti-Avoidance in the United Kingdom’, in H. Erlichman (ed.), Tax
Avoidance in Canada: The General Anti-Avoidance Rule (Toronto: Irwin Law,
2002) pp. 83-115
The introduction of section 245, the General Anti-Avoidance
Rule (GAAR), as part of the 1987 reforms to the Income Tax Act generated
considerable controversy. After an initial flurry of commentary, the tax
community patiently awaited both the application of the GAAR by the Canada
Customs and Revenue Agency and its interpretation by the courts. Now that
the first judicial stirrings have been felt, it is an appropriate time to
reconsider the role of the GAAR in light of developments in Canada and
abroad. This book brings together writers who represent a cross section of
the tax bar — public and private practitioners, and academics — whose views
reflect the spectrum of debate over section 245.
The book analyses the text of section 245 and the
existing body of case law, and suggests a set of principles for its
application. It examines the legislative history of the provision, the case
law that led to its creation, the principles of interpretation of tax
statutes and tax treaties, and the comparable provisions in other
jurisdictions. The analysis is current to December 2001 making this book the
most up-to-date resource currently available on the GAAR in Canada.
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‘A limit on the purposive interpretation of VAT directives – Belgocodex v.
Belgium’ [2000]
British Tax Review 585-90
‘Assuring Real Freedom of Movement in Direct Taxation’
(2000) 63 Modern Law Review 831-76
The decisions of
the European Court of Justice in applying the Treaty principles of freedom
of movement to the direct taxation of individuals have been strongly
criticised as taking an overly simplistic view of the interactions between
national tax systems. The interactions often make non-discrimination an
inappropriate criterion. This article proposes a framework, grounded in
economic analysis, for understanding the implications of the interactions
for freedom of movement. First, I establish a precise definition of
obstacles to freedom of movement of individuals as costs of migration, as
distinguished from incentives to migration (such as mere differences in
national tax levels). Incentives can encourage economic distortions in
migration, but they are not obstacles to migration (or free movement).
Secondly, I develop the cross-migration test to distinguish costs of
migration from incentives. I apply the test to show that two commonly used
schemes of double tax relief, including exemption with progression, create
unjustified obstacles to free movement.
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Via
a global analysis of more than 180 transfer pricing cases from 20 representative
jurisdictions, Resolving Transfer Pricing Disputes explains how the law on
transfer pricing operates in practice and examines how disputes between
taxpayers and tax administrations are dealt with around the world. It has been
designed to be an essential complement to the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines
for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations, which focus on transfer
pricing issues but do not refer to specific transfer pricing disputes. All of
the transfer pricing cases discussed in the book are linked to the relevant
paragraphs of the OECD Guidelines by means of a 'Golden Bridge', namely a table
listing the cases according to the paragraphs of the Guidelines to which they
refer. It therefore provides examples of the application of the Arm's Length
Principle in many settings on all continents.