Public international law, international taxation and tax dispute resolution

Abstract

ABSTRACT International tax law has not been discussed much by the lawyers involved in public international law. Due to this, there exists a gap, as presently, developments in international law do not correspond to the constant developments in international tax law. This article seeks to highlight the challenges that would arise from the normative expansion of taxation law. Scholars have highlighted the need for a multilateral tax treaty. However, such attempts made by the UN and OECD have failed due to difficulties in ensuring the distribution of taxation power between the source and residence states. This issue becomes more prominent for digital economy taxation, as the digital firms may trade and operate without any physical presence in a state. The present set of proposals suggests introducing new rules for fair allocation of taxing rights and duty on the part of states to tax at a minimum rate. To this end, OECD has introduced the BEPS Inclusive Framework that would include even non-OECD members in decision making. This article underlines the impact of international tax law on different areas of international law and further points out the best practices in trade, investment, and international law so as to bring them in line with the developments in international tax law.