Article 12B UN Model Convention 2021

This groundbreaking book – a major contribution addressing the imperative to find a solution to what has been labelled as the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalization of the Economy – provides the first comprehensive analysis of Article 12B of the UN Model Double Taxation Convention 2021, a model distributive rule for ‘Income from Automated Digital Services’. In extensive detail, the author thoroughly examines the article’s underlying principles, its individual provisions, the tax policy context that surrounds it, how it might be applied, and what its strengths and weaknesses are.

The author’s analysis (which includes a paragraph-by-paragraph discussion of the article and examines its Commentary in extensive detail) covers all aspects of the article and its significance, including the following:

• how to reconcile the approach taken by Article 12B UN Model Convention with general principles underlying the coordination of taxing claims;

• legal and tax policy relation to other provisions of the UN Model Convention and to the OECD/Inclusive Framework Pillar One/Amount A;

• influence of developing countries in forums of international tax coordination;

• the value of country positions and minority views in Model Conventions;

• categories of digital services;

• the novel option for annual net taxation in Article 12B(3) UN Model Convention; and

• the proposal for a UN fast-track instrument.

It is not surprising that the ubiquitous digitalization of the economy has led to a widespread sense of unease in the international tax community. Practitioners and policymakers who face this issue in their day-to-day work will greatly appreciate this book’s clear explanation of how Article 12B UN Model Convention works and benefit from its consideration of how it is likely to be implemented in the international double taxation treaty network.