Beneficial Ownership in Tax Law and Tax Treaties

Pablo A Hernández González-Barreda is lecturer in law at the Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Spain.

The analysis and comment are a very useful aid, particularly in the context of double taxation relief claims.

• 1. Introduction2. Beneficial Ownership: From Conscience to Liberalism and Law I. The Historical Evolution of Beneficial Ownership and Relation to Other Concepts II. Beneficial Ownership Nowadays III. Beneficial Ownership and the Tension between Ownership as a Strong Right and Beneficiary Rights as aFlexible Matter 3. Beneficial Ownership in Tax Law I. Ability to Pay, Allocation of Income and Beneficial Ownership II. The Two Principles III. What is Beneficial Ownership in Tax Law of Common Law Countries? A Set of Allocation Principles and Rules Balancing Substantive Law Ownership as a Primary Right to Income and Control Claimable before Court, and the Duty to Pay Taxes and Prevention of Avoidance 4. From Domestic Tax Law to Tax Treaties: How Beneficial Ownership Jumped from US and UK Tax Treaty Policy into the Worldwide Tax Treaty Network I. US and UK Tax Treaty Policy Towards Intermediaries (1930–1977) II. Crossing the Atlantic: From US Tax Treaty Policy to the UK 5. Changing Skin in the OECD Model: What do Intermediaries in Continental Law and Common Law have in Common? I. The Wording and the 1977 OECD Original Meaning of the Terms II. Broadening the Rule: Is Beneficial Ownership a GAAR under the 2003 Commentary? III. Beneficial Ownership and Allocation of Income in Relation to Hybrid Vehicles IV. Clarifying What has Always been there: The 2014 Changes to the Commentary V. Beneficial Ownership and the Post-BEPS Era: New Rules and Conflicts between Beneficial Ownership and the PPT and LOB Tests VI. The 2019 United Nations Update Draft 6. Beneficial Ownership and EU Law I. Beneficial Ownership in the Interest and Royalties Directive: The Danish Cases II. Beneficial Ownership in the Parent–Subsidiary Directive III. The Directive of Administrative Cooperation and Beneficial Ownership 7. Beneficial Ownership in Exchange of Information for Tax Matters I. International Instruments of Exchange of Information and Beneficial Ownership II. Beneficial Ownership in Exchange of Information in EU Law III. The UK Registers on Beneficial Ownership IV. Data Protection, Privacy and Beneficial Ownership Registers: The Relevance of Beneficial Ownership in Exchange of Information for Allocation of Income 8. Final Remarks I. Beneficial Ownership in Equity II. Beneficial Ownership in Tax Law III. Beneficial Ownership in Tax Treaties IV. Beneficial Ownership in Exchange of Information for Tax Matters V. Recommendations and Future of Beneficial Ownership