Introduction to Tax Treaty Interpretation

Learning Objectives: You should

Be able to apply different approaches to and cannons of tax treaty interpretation
Be confident referring to governing international tax treaty interpretation documents

Treaty Interpretation Principles

Interpretation of tax treaties
Vienna Convention
Case studies

Introduction to Tax Treaty Interpretation – Bibliography

Anonymous, “Country Digest, Canada: Treaty Interpretation: Tax Court of Canada Wants to Do Right Thing but Must Abide by Higher Court Decision” (1999) Tax Notes Intl.

Avery Jones, John F. “Interpretation of Tax Treaties” (1986) 40 Bull Intl Fiscal Doc 75.

Avery Jones, John F. “Understanding the OECD Model Tax Convention” (2009) 10 Fla Tax Rev 1 https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/ftaxr10÷=4&id=&page=

Baistrocchi, Eduardo A. “The Use and Interpretation of Tax Treaties in the Emerging World: Theory and Implications” (2008) 4 Brit Tax Rev, online: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1273089

Baker, Philip. “United Kingdom: Michael Macklin v. Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs” in Eric CCM Kemmeren et al, eds, Tax Treaty Case Law Around the Globe 2014 (Amsterdam: International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, 2014) 31 https://www.ibfd.org/sites/ibfd.org/files/content/pdf/15_010_Tax_Treaty_Case_Law_Around_the_Globe_2014_final_web.pdf

Bar, Navot. “Sharing the First Bite: A New Approach to Tax Treaties”, online: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1097592

Bederman, David. “Revivalist Canons and Treaty Interpretation” (1993-1994) 41 UCLA L Rev 953 https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/uclalr41÷=35&id=&page=

Chip, William. “Interpreting Tax Treaties After NatWest” (2008) 37:6 Tax Mgmt Intl J 321 https://www.cov.com/-/media/files/corporate/publications/2008/06/interpreting-tax-treaties-after-natwest.pdf

Crespo, César Augusto Domínguez. “Mexico: Use of DTCs is Subject to More Requirements than Demonstration of Fiscal Residence in the Contracting State” in Eric CCM Kemmeren et al, eds, Tax Treaty Case Law Around the Globe 2014 (Amsterdam: International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, 2014) 141 https://www.ibfd.org/IBFD-Products/Tax-Treaty-Case-Law-Around-Globe-2014

Dutta, Sonika. “The Interpretation of Treaty Law Under Special Consideration of the Vienna Convention of the Law of Treaties (VCLT)” in Michael Schilcher & Patrick Weninger, eds, Fundamental Issues and Practical Problems in Tax Treaty Interpretation (Vienna: Linde, 2008) 17 https://www.lindeverlag.at/buch/fundamental-issues-and-practical-problems-in-tax-treaty-interpretation-3253

Ellis, Maarten J. “The Influence of the OECD Commentaries on Treaty Interpretation – Response to Prof Dr Klaus Vogel” (2000) 54:12 Bull Nat’l Tax 617 https://www.ibfd.org/IBFD-Products/Journal-Articles/Bulletin-for-International-Taxation/collections/bit/pdf/bifd120003.pdf

Engelen, Frank. Interpretation of Tax Treaties under International Law (Amsterdam: International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, 2004) https://www.ibfd.org/IBFD-Products/Interpretation-Tax-Treaties-under-International-Law

Fitzmaurice, Malgosia, Olufemi A Elias & Panos Merkouris, eds. Treaty Interpretation and the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties: 30 Years On (Leiden: Brill, 2010) https://brill.com/view/title/15529

Hausman, James S. “Interpreting Tax Treaties: A Canadian Perspective” (2001) 55:3 Bull Intl Fiscal Doc 93.

Jiménez, Adolfo Martín. “Spain: Are Activities in Vessels, Geographically Concentrated Areas and Director’s Homes PEs?” in Eric CCM Kemmeren et al, eds, Tax Treaty Case Law Around the Globe 2014 (Amsterdam: International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, 2014) 3, online: http://www.lindeverlag.at/titel-0-0/tax_treaty_case_law_around_the_globe_2014-6071/titel/leseprobe/9783707330847.pdf

Kandev, Michael N & Brandon Wiener. “Some Thoughts on the Use of Later OCD Commentaries After Prévost Car” (2009) Tax Notes Intl 667 https://taxinterpretations.com/content/351161

Kirsch, Michael S. “The Limits of Administrative Guidance in the Interpretation of Tax Treaties” (2009) 87 Tex L Rev 1063, online: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1332123

Kysar, Rebecca M., "Interpreting Tax Treaties" (2016) 101 IOWA L. REV. 1387 https://ilr.law.uiowa.edu/print/volume-101-issue-6/interpreting-tax-treaties/

Lang, Michael, ed. Tax Treaty Interpretation (The Hague: Kluwer Law International, 2002).

Lang, Michael & Florian Brugger. “The Role of the OECD Commentary in Tax Treaty Interpretation” (2008) 23 Austl Tax Forum 95 https://www.wu.ac.at/fileadmin/wu/d/i/taxlaw/institute/staff/publications/langbrugger_australiantaxforum_95ff.pdf

Michael Lang, ‘The Interpretation of Tax Treaties and Authentic Languages’, in Essays on Tax Treaties: A Tribute to David A. Ward, ed. Guglielmo Maisto, Angelo Nikolakakis, and John M. Ulmer (Amsterdam: IBFD, 2013) https://perma.cc/6HGW-7GWP

Maisto, Guglielmo. “The Observations on the OECD Commentaries in the Interpretation of Tax Treaties” (2005) 59:1 Bull Intl Tax’n 14 https://www.ibfd.org/IBFD-Products/Journal-Articles/Bulletin-for-International-Taxation/collections/bit/pdf/bifd010504.pdf

Mathews, Kathleen. “IFA Members Debate Treaty Interpretation” (1993) Tax Notes Intl.

Provodová, Katerina. “The Relevance of the OECD Reports for the Interpretation of Tax Treaties” in Michael Schilcher & Patrick Weninger, eds, Fundamental Issues and Practical Problems in Tax Treaty Interpretation (Vienna: Linde, 2008) 139 https://www.lindeverlag.at/buch/fundamental-issues-and-practical-problems-in-tax-treaty-interpretation-3253

Reinhold, Richard L & Catherine A Harrington. “What NatWest Tells Us About Tax Treaty Interpretation” (2008) 50 Tax Notes Intl 923 http://link.library.ibfd.org/portal/What-NatWest-tells-us-about-tax-treaty/hOF9tpKaWjc/

Resch, Richard Xenophon, The Interpretation of Plurilingual Tax Treaties: Routine Interpretation — A Refutation (December 14, 2018). Chapter 3 of Richard Xenophon Resch, The Interpretation of Plurilingual Tax Treaties: Theory, Practice, Policy. Hamburg: tredition, 2018, ISBN: 978-3-7439-0208-4 https://perma.cc/VXS8-BYCZ

Roberts, Anthea. “Power and Persuasion in Investment Treaty Interpretation: The Dual Role of States” (2010) 104 Am J Intl L 179, online: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1514410

Straubel, Michael. “Textualism, Contextualism, and the Scientific Method in Treaty Interpretation: How do We Find the Shared Intent of the Parties?” (1994) 40 Wayne L Rev 1191 https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals/waynlr40÷=40&id=&page=

Studniberg, Brian M. “Minding the Gap in Tax Interpretation: Does Specificity Oust the General Anti-Avoidance Rule Post-Copthorne” (2012) 38:1 Queens LJ 209, online: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2347718

Tillinghast, David R. “Commentaries to the OECD Model Convention: Ubiquitous, Often Controversial; but Could They Possibly be Legally Binding?” (2006) 35 Tax Mgmt Intl J 580.

Townsend, John A. “Tax Treaty Interpretation” (2001) 55 Tax Lawyer 1, online: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=301999

Van Damme, Isabelle. “Treaty Interpretation by the WTO Appellate Body” (2010) 21:3 Eur J Intl L 605, online: http://www.ejil.org/article.php?article=2067&issue=103#download_acrobat_reader

Van der Bruggen, Edwin. “Good Faith in the Application and Interpretation of Double Taxation Conventions” (2003) 1 Brit Tax Rev 25 https://www.fd.unl.pt/docentes_docs/ma/fsc_MA_5983.PDF

Vann, Richard J. “Taxing International Business Income: Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World” (2010) 2:3 World Tax J 291 https://www.ibfd.org/IBFD-Products/Journal-Articles/World-Tax-Journal/collections/wtj/html/wtj_2010_03_int_2.html

Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, opened for signature May 23, 1969, 1155 UNTS 331 (entered into force January 27, 1980) https://treaties.un.org/doc/publication/unts/volume 1155/volume-1155-i-18232-english.pdf

Vogel, Klaus. "The Influence of the OECD Commentaries on Treaty Interpretation" (2000) 54:12 Bull Intl Tax’n 612 https://www.ibfd.org/IBFD-Products/Journal-Articles/Bulletin-for-International-Taxation/collections/bit/pdf/bifd120003.pdf

Ward, David A. “Principles to be Applied in Interpreting Tax Treaties” (1977) 25 Can Tax J 263, (reprinted in 1980) 34 Bull Intl Fiscal Doc 545 https://taxinterpretations.com/content/350703

Ward, David A. “The Role of the Commentaries on the OECD Model in the Tax Treaty Interpretation Process” (2006) 60:3 Bull Intl Tax’n 97 https://www.ibfd.org/IBFD-Products/Journal-Articles/Bulletin-for-International-Taxation/collections/bit/pdf/bifd030603.pdf

Ward, David A et al. The Interpretation of Income Tax Treaties with Particular Reference to the Commentaries on the OECD Model (Kingston: International Fiscal Association, 2005), online: http://www.gbv.de/dms/zbw/505309963.pdf