This network aims at initiating and coordinating both comparative education in taxation, through the organisation of activities such as winter courses and guest lectures, and comparative research in the field, by means of joint research projects, international conferences and exchange of researchers between various countries. --

The book is the result of a joint research project on the tax treaties concluded between the People’s Republic of China and European countries. Each chapter carefully analyses the extent to which Chinese tax treaties follow the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and Capital and the UN Income and Capital Model Convention. The focus is on the different policy decisions underlying the various provisions. Additionally, the contributions analyse the extent to which Chinese tax treaty policy differs with respect to EU and non-EU Member States. They also highlight relevant policy changes over time. The fact that each contribution is the product of the collaboration between European and Chinese researchers and includes the results of the International Conference on Europe - China Tax Treaties Research, held in March 2009 in Beijing, serves to enrich its analysis. Among the topics covered are the following: • Treaty Entitlement (Articles 1, 4 and 24 OECD Model) • Business Profits (Articles 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 14 OECD Model) • Passive Income (Articles 10, 11, and 12 OECD Model) • Capital Gains (Article 13 OECD Model) • Employment Income (Articles 15, 16, 18, 19, and 20 OECD Model) • Artistes and Sportsmen (Article 17 OECD Model) • Methods to Avoid Double Taxation (Article 23 OECD Model) • Non-Discrimination (Article 24 OECD Model) • Mutual Agreement, Exchange of Information and Mutual Assistance in the Collection of Taxes (Articles 25, 26 and 27 OECD Model)

Detailed survey of tax treaty interpretations in 16 European countries taking into account court decisions since 1993, the OECD reports on partnership, changes in administrative practice at national level and recent Community law effecting taxation and tax practice.

This book covers the Tax Treaties which The People’s Republic of China has signed with various nations of the European Region. This book is a collection of the treaties, supplementary materials, and selected implementing circulars. It is edited and ordered according to geographical/economic criteria and accompanied with integrated with tables, domestic tax systems reports, and accompanying circulars and treaty model texts. This book has never been compiled for Chinese tax treaties before, providing a new resource for firms and researchers to access the materials with ease. This book has the potential to be a part of a volume on China double tax treaties, and the book will encompass the entirety of China’s Global Tax treaties. The intended readership of this book will be primarily professionals who are working in both the international accounting and legal industries. These readers frequently reference the treaties through the course of their normal business for the purpose of forming optimum tax structures and corporate structuring. However, it is also foreseeable that this book will be of interest to academic researchers in multiple fields from geo-politics, accounting, legal to economics.

Should the income of a corporate group be taxed differently solely because the traditional structure of the income tax system considers each company individually? Taxation affects business decisions, including location, the form in which business is carried out, and the efficient allocation of company resources. Disparities – differences arising from the interaction of different tax systems – and obstacles – distortions created by domestic legislation arising from differences between domestic and cross-border situations – both become more acute when a business chooses to set up or acquire other companies, thus forming a group, usually operating in multiple jurisdictions. Responding to such ever more common developments, this book is the first in-depth analysis of how tax treaties and EU law influence group taxation regimes. Among the issues and topics covered are the following: – analysis of the different tax group regimes adopted by different countries; – advantages and disadvantages of a variety of models; – application of the non-discrimination provision of Article 24 of the OECD Model Tax Convention to group taxation regimes; – application of the fundamental freedoms of the TFEU to group taxation regimes following the three-step approach adopted by the EU Court of Justice; – uncertainty raised by the landmark Marks & Spencer case, its interpretation and consequences to other group taxations regimes; – interrelations between tax treaties and EU Law in the context of tax groups; and – per-element approach. The analysis considers concrete examples as well as relevant case law. With its analysis of the standards required by the two sets of norms (tax treaties and EU law) and their interaction, particularly in terms of non-discrimination, this book sheds clear light on ways to overcome the disparities and obstacles inherent in group taxation regimes. As a thorough survey of the extent to which the interpretation of tax treaties and EU law affect group taxation regimes, this book has no peers. All taxation professionals, whether working in EU Member States or in EU trading partners, will appreciate its invaluable insights and guidance.

Tax administration improvements have contributed significantly to a doubling of China’s tax-to-GDP ratio and the substantial reduction in taxpayers’ compliance costs since the mid-1990s. This paper describes the key features of China’s tax administration and their evolution over the last 20 years. It also identifes emerging challenges to the tax system and areas where further tax administration improvements are needed to sustain tax revenue and reduce taxpayers’ compliance costs in the future.

To some extent, because of his overlapping careers in academia and politics, the renowned tax scholar Peter Essers is known for his influential insight that ‘the effects of taxation on the political balance of power, and vice versa, are always interlinked with other phenomena, such as wars, crises, religious developments and inequalities in society’. In this widely ranging festschrift, thirty-six prominent tax scholars from all across Europe examine the legacy of Peter Essers’ research interests, from the larger philosophical, political, and social factors driving tax history to the reality of the taxing State as experienced by taxpayers and tax officials. The book’s outstanding overview of the most relevant technical and policy aspects of European and international taxation includes deeply thoughtful chapters on such topics and issues as the following: developing sustainable corporate tax governance; tax whistleblowing; transfer pricing; balancing qualitative and quantitative approaches to tax research; necessity to reach something close to ‘equal treatment’ between the upper and lower social classes; consent and democracy; tax rebellions; tax evasion and tax avoidance; taxation of cross-border remote workers and their employers; mitigation of double taxation of income earned by entertainers and sportspersons; and the international tax treaty network. More than a homage to this scholar’s far-reaching contributions, this book is remarkable for the variety and academic rigour of the chapters. The understanding its authors provide of both the broad contours and the intricacies of European and international taxation will be of inestimable value to tax practitioners, policymakers, tax consultants, and academics, as well as interested researchers in economics, political science, and sociology.