Access to Treaty Benefits

S. 761. Introduction

“εὐδαιμονίη οὐκ ἐν βοσκήμασιν οἰκεῖ οὐδὲ ἐν χρυσῶι· ψυχὴ οἰκητήριον δαίμονος”

The ancient Greek quote quoted above is by Democritus (460 BC–370 BC) and means that happiness resides in neither possessions nor gold but in the soul.

Although this wise statement by the great Greek philosopher is ancient, the meaning of it is also valid today. Indeed, it is more relevant than ever. Material possessions shall not be considered as the value of happiness. The quote specifies where real happiness resides, namely in our souls. Since Democritus already has figured out where happiness resides, there is not much left to talk about in this field. However, the meaning of “residence” in the field of international tax law should be still discussed, even if not from a philosophical perspective.

According to the OECD Glossary of Tax Terms, a resident is a person who is liable for tax in a country or state because of domicile, residence, place of management, or another similar criterion. From this definition, first, we can see that tax liability is linked to residence and, secondly, that when a person is resident it can mean domicile, residence and also place of management. However, the d...