This chapter addresses the current developments in the taxation of the digital economy including the current unilateral, multilateral, and EU proposals including objectives, challenges, and... Show moreThis chapter addresses the current developments in the taxation of the digital economy including the current unilateral, multilateral, and EU proposals including objectives, challenges, and problems arising when implementing these proposals. The chapter also provides some elements of analysis regarding the evolution from e-commerce to the digital economy, as well as addresses the concerns regarding the requirement of local presence that may constitute a barrier to trade and investment. The diversity of the proposals reveals that there is no clarity on the best way to deal with highly digitalised business, with the multilateral approaches facing similar scrutiny, especially by developing countries. Therefore, as in trade and investment, multilateral approaches will need to do more to gain legitimacy vis-à-vis developing countries. The chapter concludes with some recommendations regarding the steps that can be taken to address this topic by governments, as well as policymakers at the national, EU, and international levels. Show less
This chapter examines global tax governance. By assuming that the term global tax governance is used to impose outcomes on people, the question that should be asked would be, if this is true, and... Show moreThis chapter examines global tax governance. By assuming that the term global tax governance is used to impose outcomes on people, the question that should be asked would be, if this is true, and countries still follow these outcomes by the Organization for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD), under what conditions can the model of global tax governance be feasible and legitimate for both developed and developing countries? The chapter begins by looking at the recent international tax standards, mainly exchange of information and BEPS as developed by the OECD with the political mandate of the G20. It then addresses the use of soft law vs. hard law to introduce international tax standards, before considering the role of developing countries in the BEPS Inclusive Framework and the peer review of the BEPS Minimum Standards. Finally, the chapter studies the validity of the outcome of these international tax standards and discusses the role of the actors in global tax governance. Show less
Het maken van internationale belastingregels is in het verleden bediscussieerd in het kader van debeginselen voor de verdeling van de heffingsrechten tussen ontwikkelde en ontwikkelingslanden.... Show moreHet maken van internationale belastingregels is in het verleden bediscussieerd in het kader van debeginselen voor de verdeling van de heffingsrechten tussen ontwikkelde en ontwikkelingslanden. Sindsde wereldwijde financiële crisis in 2007-2008 is de discussie veranderd. De focus ligt bij het maken vaninternationale belastingregels thans meer op internationale samenwerking en op het zoeken vanconsensus tussen ontwikkelde landen en ontwikkelingslanden. Echter, er zijn tekortkomingen in dezesamenwerking die gevolgen hebben voor de legitimiteit van de initiatieven, aangezienontwikkelingslanden onvoldoende zijn vertegenwoordigd in de besluitvorming over internationalebelastingregels.Deze bijdrage bespreekt deze tekortkomingen vanuit het perspectief van “verschuivendemachtsverhoudingen in de fiscaliteit” en de rol van ontwikkelde landen, ontwikkelingslanden en ookinternationale organisaties, zoals de OESO, en politieke fora, zoals de G20. De belangrijkste vraag is indezen wat ‘consensus’ betekent voor de legitimiteit, en goed bestuur van landen, internationale organisaties en politieke fora in het maken van internationale belastingregels? Show less
This contribution addresses the current developments in the taxation of the digital economy including the current unilateral, multilateral, and EU proposals including objectives, challenges, and... Show moreThis contribution addresses the current developments in the taxation of the digital economy including the current unilateral, multilateral, and EU proposals including objectives, challenges, and problems arising when implementing these proposals. This contribution also provides some elements of analysis regarding the evolution from e-commerce to the digital economy, as well as addresses the concerns regarding the requirement of local presence that may constitute a barrier to trade and investment. The diversity of the proposals reveals that there is no clarity on the best way to deal with highly digitalised business, with the multilateral approaches facing similar scrutiny especially by developing countries. Therefore, as in trade and investment, multilateral approaches will need to do more to gain legitimacy vis-à-vis developing countries. This contribution concludes with some recommendations regarding the steps that can be taken to address this topic by governments, as well as policymakers at the national, EU, and international levels. Show less
The overall aim of this chapter is to address the challenges that Asia and Europe face in digital connectivity in the field of taxation and to facilitate the exchange of best practices in the... Show moreThe overall aim of this chapter is to address the challenges that Asia and Europe face in digital connectivity in the field of taxation and to facilitate the exchange of best practices in the framework of Asia–Europe Meeting (ASEM) connectivity and cooperation. Show less
Since the 2008 financial crisis, multilateral cooperation in international tax law has developed at a fast pace. Nowadays, OECD and non-OECD countries have agreed to introduce international tax... Show moreSince the 2008 financial crisis, multilateral cooperation in international tax law has developed at a fast pace. Nowadays, OECD and non-OECD countries have agreed to introduce international tax standards to tackle tax evasion, harmful tax competition, and aggressive tax planning. This chapter will address these standards with a focus on the interaction between different international, and supranational (mainly EU) organizations in the process.The first part of the chapter will describe the environment in which international taxation has evolved and explain its foundations. The second part will address multilateral cooperation in tax matters among countries and the role adopted by international organizations in the development of common tax standards. The third part of this chapter will address multilateral tax cooperation at the European Union (EU) level and explain how the EU adopts tax standards to create general principles of conduct for tax matters. The fourth part offers some critical comments regarding the current system of multilateral cooperation as well as some ideas about the future perspectives for multilateral tax cooperation. Finally, this chapter will provide some conclusions. Show less
