Projects

In an era of increased globalization, digitalization, and mobility, economic activities are becoming increasingly detached from physical presence, leading to a shifting of the traditional tax nexus. Simultaneously, many states are taking advantage of increased mobility via tax regimes that seek to attract in particular wealthy individuals and/or highly-skilled individuals, raising the question of whether harmful tax competition is present. This research seeks to establish whether and how the principles underpinning international frameworks to address similar developments in the corporate tax context can provide guidance on addressing these issues in individual taxation.

This PhD research examines the idea of a robot tax as a response to the anticipated disruptive impact of robots and AI on the labor market. An accelerated substitution of human workers by robots and AI bears a negative effect on the collection of labor income tax revenues which play a fundamental role in the overall tax structure of a significant number of jurisdictions. This study conducts a normative analysis of the robot tax concept as a potential policy instrument to offset public revenue losses and, thereby, to strengthen the resilience of state transfer systems. Additionally, it explores alternative tax policies beyond a robot tax, considering how the labor and economic transformations driven by automation and AI exacerbate the structural weaknesses of modern tax systems.

This PhD project examines the EU Value Added Tax (‘VAT’) position of intermediaries in supply chains. Within this transaction tax, taxable persons may deduct, and must remit, VAT. Consecutive transactions by multiple taxable persons trigger a chain of deduction and taxation. Intermediaries (including resellers, commissionaires, agents, and platforms) are difficult to position either within or outside this chain. Obscure legislation and conflicting jurisprudence create legal uncertainty. By revisiting the VAT position of intermediaries, this dissertation seeks to strengthen legal certainty and resolve inconsistencies.

As labour mobility within the European Union increases, individuals often face complex rules that frustrate (underlying) principles of legal certainty and proportionality. This research therefore aims to answer the following research question: ‘How are the principles of legal certainty and proportionality embedded in the taxation of cross-border income from employment and pensions under the bilateral tax treaties between the Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany?’. By applying a three-stage methodology: doctrinal analysis, conceptual analysis, and an empirical survey of cross-border workers’ experiences, this study examines how cross-border workers experience the taxation of income from employment and pensions under the Netherlands-Belgium-Germany bilateral tax treaties.

The Multilateral Instrument (MLI) implemented BEPS minimum standards to counter treaty abuse and to enable automatic modification of bilateral double tax conventions, introducing the Principal Purpose Test (PPT) as a treaty‑level general anti‑avoidance rule, among signing countries. The PPT is also incorporated into the latest OECD and UN Model Tax Conventions, making it an essential part of the international framework to counteract treaty-based tax avoidance.

The PhD project examines the PPT’s interaction with domestic General Anti‑Avoidance Rules (GAARs) in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Through comparative legal analysis, it identifies shared doctrinal elements, traces legal transplants, and evaluates how the domestic concept of tax avoidance conditions the PPT’s reception, interpretation and application, thereby focusing on tax avoidance responses post‑BEPS/MLI and how these three countries fit it.

The study assesses the extent to which domestic and treaty-based rules associated with cross-border payments of interest, royalties, and management fees address corporate tax base erosion in Ghana and satisfy the author’s defined benchmarks of certainty and adequacy.

The author employs the doctrinal methodology to analyse Ghana’s domestic and treaty-based anti-base erosion measures and provides additional measures Ghana adopt to improve the adequacy and certainty of its anti-base erosion rules on cross-border payment of interest, royalties and management fees.

This research aims to explore the extent to which non-discrimination commitments within the WTO can inform the design of tax policies for ensuring tax transparency. It analyzes how the asymmetrical implementation of OECD hard and soft tax law standards for transparency may infringe WTO provisions on the services market and, consequently, result in unjustified imposition of discriminatory practices. For that purpose, the work dives into the OECD guidelines, establishes the symmetries and asymmetries in the implementation by countries following them and contrast them with the Non-Discrimination WTO rules in order to ascertain the congruence between the former and the later.

Offshore indirect transfers (OITs) are a growing concern for developing countries and especially for countries rich in natural resources. A report by Oxfam, in which they analysed seven cases concerning OITs, showed a potential loss of tax revenue of $2.2 billion (See 2i). This loss of tax revenue is critical for developing countries. Therefore, from the perspective of securing taxing rights and the revenue therefrom for developing countries the research on this topic proves to be important. This thesis largely focuses on the issue of allocation of taxing rights concerning capital gains arising from OITs of natural resources between the multiple countries involved. 

This thesis studies the objectives, the policy rationale, and the obstacles faced by the states in taxing capital gains. It studies the limitations of current solutions and tries to understand what the stakeholders require from the solution to deal with OITs. Based on this research, it will endeavour to develop new solutions and draft the measures required for taxation of capital gains, from a domestic as well as tax treaty perspective. It will develop domestic and tax treaty solutions to overcome the problems in the taxation of capital gains arising from OITs. 

This research examines the allocation of risks and returns in intercompany financing under the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. It specifically analyzes "control over risk," an essential element for profit allocation that remains ambiguous within modern, decentralized, or automated corporate environments. By evaluating the OECD’s six-step analytical framework, the study identifies practical challenges in delineating transactions and documenting substantive decision-making. The project seeks to provide clearer criteria—including safe harbor proposals and practical examples of risk control—to refine the existing framework.

This doctoral dissertation studies the taxation of Islamic financing transactions based on the OECD Model Tax Convention with special focus on taxation issues of re-characterization and allocation of taxing rights and tax neutrality. It examines the manner in which Shariah compliant instruments, although they have a different legal structure, tend to serve similar purposes as conventional financial structures. The dissertation is a critical discussion of how the current provisions of the OECD Model and its Commentary can or cannot accommodate such a transaction. The dissertation will help to advance a more coherent and principled framework to harmonize cross border taxation with economic substance.