PhD Conferral Mr. Jan Weissbrodt, LL.M

Keywords: OECD Model Tax Convention, capital mobility, financial product taxation, economic pricing theory.

"Financial Instruments in the OECD Model Tax Convention"

How are financial products taxed cross-border? This is subject of about 3,000 double tax treaties between states worldwide, most of which are based on the OECD's international standard template. Having grown over the last 100 years, this “OECD Model Tax Convention” is reaching its (interpretation) limits, in particular through the capital mobility and dynamics of the financial market. The taxation of financial products is therefore a special focus not only of taxpayers and the (tax) consulting industry but also the international community of states. In this light, the thesis takes an alternative approach of interpreting the OECD Model Tax Convention by drawing interdisciplinary analogies from the fields of international accounting, economic pricing theory, and US federal tax law. Key output is a tie-breaking test to delimit dividends, interest and capital gains.