A Model Treaty for the Age of BEPS

41 Pages Posted: 24 Feb 2014 Last revised: 16 Feb 2015

See all articles by Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah

University of Michigan Law School

Oz Halabi

University of Michigan Law School

Date Written: May 21, 2014

Abstract

The OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project promises to bring about the most fundamental changes in the international tax regime since its inception in the 1920s. The fundamental idea behind the various BEPS projects is that the OECD has fully embraced the idea that double non-taxation can have as deleterious consequences as double taxation and that therefore the various aspects of the current rules that enable multinational enterprises (MNEs) to achieve double non-taxation should be reconsidered.

The BEPS Action Plan, adopted by the OECD in July 2013, sets an ambitious time table for the various items, which are supposed to be achieved either by September 2014 or at the latest by December 2015. While the Action Plan items generally require coordinated action to amend the domestic laws of the member states, the last item envisages an effort to draft a new multilateral tax treaty. This is likely to be a difficult and prolonged process, so in the meantime we would like to offer some tentative suggestions about how the current OECD model should be revised to address not just double taxation but also double non-taxation.

Keywords: Tax Treaties, BEPS, OECD Model

JEL Classification: H26

Suggested Citation

Avi-Yonah, Reuven S. and Halabi, Oz, A Model Treaty for the Age of BEPS (May 21, 2014). U of Michigan Public Law Research Paper No. 411, U of Michigan Law & Econ Research Paper No. 14-012, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2400024 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2400024

Reuven S. Avi-Yonah (Contact Author)

University of Michigan Law School ( email )

625 South State Street
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1215
United States
734-647-4033 (Phone)

Oz Halabi

University of Michigan Law School ( email )

Ann Arbor, MI
United States

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