Attribution of profits to PE’s: AOA vs. UN Model

Chair: Richard Vann (Australia)
Now that 13 years have passed since the finalisation of the AOA, it is time to take stock of its impact on tax treaties in general and the effect of the UN rejection of the AOA on treaty negotiation and application. After laying out the background and the current state of play in treaty negotiation of the AOA and the UN rejection, the seminar will look at various aspects of the issue: deemed payments, limitations on the functionally separate enterprise approach under the AOA and their relevant to the UN Model, and the impact of the change in direction under BEPS on both the AOA and UN Model.

The use of tax systems to execute non-fiscal policy goals (Companion seminar to Subject 1)

Chair: Armando Lara Yaffar (Mexico)
The seminar has the purpose to discuss the tax policy responses that have emerged after the post-pandemic era, as well as the geopolitical events that have affected economies, for which the creation of windfall taxes, the ways in which green energies have been supported, the responses against tax evasion and the challenges of tax administrations to be able to correctly implement these policies will be discussed, among other topics.

Tax adjudicators Seminar (Adjudicative forums for deciding international tax disputes - Companion seminar to Subject 2)

Chair: Philippe Martin (France)
Seminar C deals with forums where disputes regarding taxation are adjudicated : courts and international treaty arbitration. The mission and duties of tax adjudicators will be discussed, with an eye on the expectations of the parties and the public. Their methods and legal approach will be studied. The seminar will also discuss some difficult issues tax adjudicators may face, especially regarding tax policies pursued by States.

Who is winning the race?

Chair: Natalia Quiñones Cruz (Colombia)
This seminar will discuss whether base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) has been fully addressed by the current rules or if mobility, new technologies, and new business strategies make BEPS a persistent challenge for the international tax system. The seminar will additionally address the issue of whether BEPS is the same across the globe or if it has a particular detrimental effect for the developing world. Finally, the seminar explores some options to address the issue of persistent BEPS, which range from continuing with the implementation of current rules to unitary taxation and formulary apportionment.

IFA/OECD

Chair: Porus Kaka (India)
The IFA/OECD Seminar focuses on the latest developments in the International Tax arena. The OECD’s new tax leadership will provide an update on the work currently underway at the OECD.
The Panel will bring together experts from Government, academia, business and tax practitioners to discuss major International tax initiatives and developments, with a particular emphasis on OECD work in this area.

IFA/EU

Chair: Georg Kofler (Austria)
The IFA/EU seminar will highlight the most recent and pressing developments in international tax law from the specific angle of EU law. Discussions will focus on the corporate tax agenda of the EU Commission (including Pillar Two and BEFIT), measures targeting aggressive tax planning and harmful tax competition (such as „Unshell“ and the Revised Code of Conduct), administrative cooperation and transparency, and the impact of the green transition on European taxation.

Non-discrimination rules (direct and indirect)

Chair: Alexander Rust (Austria)
The core focus of this seminar is the link of tax treaties with regional cooperation and explore these links with “non tax areas” The seminar will revisit the two non-discrimination rules (direct and indirect) and analyse its two constitutive elements (i.e., comparability and the existence of different treatment). Also, whether a domestic measure that is at first deemed discriminatory may be justified on the basis of BEPS and/or EU law, will be discussed.

Recent Developments in international taxation

Chair: Jonathan Schwarz (United Kingdom)
This permanent seminar at all IFA Congresses, brings the latest and most important issues that impact international taxation around the world. The main focus of this seminar will be on recent judicial decisions on key international tax topics such as tax treaties, transfer pricing and domestic tax rules with cross-border implications. The final agenda for the seminar is normally decided close to the Congress date to make sure that it is as current as possible.

International mobility and remote work: Corporate tax implications

Chair: Ana Claudia Utumi (Brazil)
The purpose of this panel is to examine the international tax implications, especially for multinational enterprises (MNE), to have personnel working at distance, having them relocated to other countries, or even directly hiring people that live in other countries as employees. Many of the MNEs reduced the sizes of their physical offices, showing that remote work came to stay, and not as a temporary measure.
The number of issues related to international relocations/international employees is significant. Characterisation of permanent establishment, interaction with other companies of the group to share costs/functions exercised by certain employees, taxation of cross-border services, impact of tax treaties on remuneration for the services provided by those employees, taxation on the use of digital means to allow the remote work, determination of tax residency etc

Transfer pricing controversial topics - problems and solutions

Chair: Monique van Herksen (Netherlands)
The panel will look at transfer pricing controversy and resolution trends, and consider the impact of new developments, such as a Global Minimum Tax. The following questions will be raised: Is it time to conclude that Profit Split and TNMM are the de facto methods of choice (witness recent tax litigation) or is their application merely opportunistic depending on whose side you are on and what outcome you support? Considering this, do APAs and MAP provide adequate dispute resolution or should other (international) instruments be used? Will the Global Minimum Tax reduce transfer pricing controversy?