Josef Schuch

There is an immense tax treaty network between European Union Member States and third countries. These tax treaties are bilateral conventions, governed by international law. At the same time, these agreements are part of the internal law of the various Member States. European Community (EC) law has supremacy over domestic law and, therefore, over tax treaties as well. Consequently tax treaties must conform with EC law. This book examines the areas of tension between EC law and tax treaty law. Since most rules of primary and secondary law are directly applicable, they can substantially impact the implementation of tax treaty provisions and consequently result in serious practical ramifications. As part of its analysis this work devotes particular attention to the growing number of decisions of the European Court of Justice concerning fundamental freedoms and direct taxation. Thus, this book provides an up-to-date and comprehensive analysis of the interaction of national tax law, double tax treaties, and the EC Treaty.

A growing number of cases pending before the European Court of Justice (ECJ) concern the fundamental freedoms and direct taxation. This book scrutinises the national background of the most important of these cases, and examines possible infringements of fundamental freedoms. The focus of each analysis is on the questions submitted to the ECJ by the national courts. Moreover, where available, the opinion of the Advocate General is discussed. The cases are presented by esteemed national and European tax law experts. This book goes to the heart of the national tax systems, exposing hidden obstacles to fundamental freedoms.

The advantages and disadvantages of multilateral tax treaties have been debated for many years. Although some multilateral tax treaties have been concluded at regional level, the concept has not yet gained wide acceptance. Recently it has become clear, however, that diverging provisions in bilateral tax treaties lead to undesired consequences. Tax administrations expend considerable energy combatting tax structures devised by taxpayers and their advisers, in an attempt to use these differences to their advantage. This engages the resources of both enterprises and tax authorities without their efforts being useful from an economic point of view. This book is the result of a research project conducted at the Department for Austrian and International Tax Law at the University of Economics and Business Administration in Vienna. The project's aim was to produce a draft multilateral tax treaty modelled on the OECD Model Income Tax Convention, whilst examining in detail difficulties that arise in connection with the multilateralization of the OECD Model.