Multilateralism in Tax Treaty Law

It is generally agreed that treaties for the avoidance of double taxation are usually international agreements between two countries, i.e., bilateral international treaties. This is also how the major international treaty models of the OECD and the UN are structured. With its roots deep in the early 1920s, “bilateralism” shapes the structure of today’s international tax framework, the backbone of which is formed by around 3,000 bilateral tax treaties. In fact, there are very few historical or current examples of multilateral tax treaties. Skepticism prevailed, due to the lack of consensus on the allocation of taxing rights in situations involving many states. However, the last decade has seen a surge in multilateralism in international tax law.

It is against this background that this book explores the topic of multilateralism in tax treaty law. The book investigates one broad research question: “How has multilateralism in international tax treaty law been used in the past, what are the advantages of a multilateral approach and how could a multilateral tax treaty be used as a tool for inclusive cooperation?” It establishes a historical basis and conceptual framework to argue for increased multilateralism, which, drawing from past and present examples of multilateral tax treaties, offers many advantages over bilateral approaches that may outweigh the difficulties of a multilateral approach. The book concludes with a proposal for a “Draft Multilateral Tax Treaty” that draws on the most common model treaties, existing multilateral agreements and research findings.

To put it in the author’s words:

“The advantages of a comprehensive MTC both in aspects of concrete distributive issues as well as underlying principles are significant and should be used as a new starting point for discussions on the matter”.

This book analyses the re-emergence of multilateralism in international tax law and explores potential advantages (and disadvantages) of a multilateral approach to tax treaty law.