Taxation

A commentary on the proposed digital services tax in Kenya: a case of premature legislation?

While the desire to tax digital platforms is legitimate, the strategy taken by the country may be too costly. It is likely that this law may face future amendments to include factors such as thresholds so that the tax administration aspect is cost effective. For example, the law provides that this amount shall be due at the time the amount is paid to the service provider for the service, it is unclear how this is supposed to be remitted. If you compare this to rental income tax which is due by the 20th of each month, one is able to consolidate the income and make the necessary payments without incurring any unnecessary transaction charges from the intermediary financial institutions.

Taxation of Digital Economy in Peru

In the modern world, new questions arise since due to the new technologies, the criteria described before may not be enough to determine if certain operations should be taxed or not in certain jurisdictions. In the following lines we will presenting the situation of digital economy taxation in Peru and where possible, offer solutions where necessary.

Carrotestein: Tax Incentives for Digital Companies, WTO Agreements, and Harmful Tax Competition

The Post-COVID19 path to economic recovery in Latin America and the Caribbean will demand both Domestic Revenue Mobilization measures and the promotion of domestic and foreign investment. Amid all the controversy surrounding the concession of tax incentives, the COVID-19 pandemic taught us a lesson: nothing is a sole economic issue. Public policies should address other concerns such as employment, health, environment, and education. A well-designed package of governmental measures may be a balanced proposal that includes diverse public interests to achieve optimal delivery of public goods. This post will focus on the granting of tax incentives for the digital economy in  accordance with the GATT, the GATS, and the OECD’s recommendations on harmful tax competition.

The Proposal of a Digital Services Tax amid the Tax Reform Debates in Brazil

Brazil has been a challenging environment for businesses, in great part, due to the complexity and inefficiency of its tax system. Despite some controversy about the necessity of a wide and structural tax reform, the topic has been treated as a priority by the President and Congressional leaders, but the bills that currently address the tax reform have struggled to make significant progress in the Brazilian Congress. Besides, uncertainties remain as the Federal Administration may present and endorse a proposal, which could include the creation of a Digital Services Tax (“DST”).

New Chilean Tax Measures as to Digital Economy: Analysis from the OECD’s Recommendations Perspective

With regards to the granting of taxing rights, in line with the destination principle Chilean VAT generally levies services provided or utilized in Chile. The destination principle is designed to ensure that tax on cross-border supplies is ultimately levied only in the jurisdiction where the final consumption occurs, thereby maintaining neutrality within the VAT system as it applies to international trade.

Taxation of Digital Services in Argentina

The taxpayer is the user or consumer of the digital service. However, if an Argentine resident intermediary mediates in the payment, it must act as withholding agent. If more than one intermediary are involved, the one with the closest business relationship with the digital service provider must act as the withholding agent. If no Argentine payment intermediary is involved, then the recipient of the services must report and pay the VAT through an electronic bank transfer to the Argentine Tax Administration.

Digital Taxes, Transactions Costs and Heterogeneity

As long as national tax systems develop in response to unique social and administrative pressures, jurisdictions will continue to rely on tax systems that exhibit at least as many differences as similarities. Tax harmonization represents the traditional answer to that entropic pressure, reflecting a confidence that nations can avoid international tax conflicts by becoming more like one another. Unfortunately, in part because many of the jurisdictions that populate today's international tax landscape have little in common, it seems that harmonization is no longer equal to the task. This Part introduces the concept of deharmonization, an alternative to harmonization that may be more robust.

Don’t Let International Law Become an Exotic Field Irrelevant for Lawyers…Seven Demands

The main finding of this contribution is that most universities offer enough courses on international aspects of law but do not ensure all their students get the minimum necessary, i.e., a sound introduction to the principles of public and private international law as well as ideally the skills to compare legal solutions in various jurisdictions (comparative law).

Call for Blog Posts: Taxation and the Digital Economy - Latin American and the Caribbean Regional Perspectives

This symposium organized by the AfronomicsLaw with the assistance of Monica Victor focuses on the synergies between taxation and the digital economy in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Adopting a Universal Tax Regime for Outer Space Exploration

For decades, humans have been drawn to space exploration for scientific, security and commercial purposes. Private companies such as SpaceX and Blue Origin have undertaken daring projects to commercialize outer space, including tourism, mining space resources and establishing installations and even extra-terrestrial habitats. The allocation of the benefits from outer space is a highly disputed issue, from the early days of space exploration to date. We believe that the issue of taxation, hardly discussed so far, is vital when considering the proper distribution of space benefits