Year: 2017
Type: article
Abstract: The Multilateral Instrument: Legal Concerns And the Way Forward by the Institute for Austrian and International Tax LawInternational taxation is at a momentous juncture with the adoption of the final text of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI) in late November.The MLI is a multilateral agreement that, once entered into by states and subject to conditions therein, would modify existing bilateral tax treaties to match the treaty-related changes proposed by the OECD as part of its base erosion and profit-shifting project.With more than 100 states participating in MLI discussions as part of an OECD ad hoc group, and the first signing ceremony expected in June, there is much excitement in the legal and tax communities regarding the effects of the MLI.The potential impact of the MLI's substantive provisions has become a regular topic in tax literature, given that those provisions have been subject to analysis since the OECD first released them in the interim BEPS reports in 2014.However, the MLI also creates new challenges for legal scholars and practitioners because many questions will arise, including those regarding its relationship with existing tax treaties, nature and scope, and possible means of interpretation.Answering those questions will require study of both international tax law and public international law.Although tax law academics are familiar with some public international law principles regarding the application and interpretation of bilateral tax treaties, a legal analysis of the MLI and its text requires taking a step outside that zone to examine other concepts of public international law.We have taken up this topic as our principal focus at the 24th Viennese Symposium on International Tax Law, organized by the Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law, Vienna University of Economics and Business (WU), in partnership with the Austrian branch of the International Fiscal Association, and scheduled to be held June 26 at WU.We have looked at the legal questions concerning the MLI and have divided them into 12 topics, each of which will be addressed in detail at the symposium.The institute will also release a book containing indepth research on the subject that is meant to be the first holistic academic compilation on the MLI.This article provides a glimpse into the topics that will be discussed in Vienna.
Author: Jean-Philippe Van West
Institution: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Language: English
Topic: Taxation and Legal Issues
Subfield: Accounting
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
Funder: Austrian Science Fund
OpenAlex ID: W7039491486