'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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Ian
Roxan
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.
