OECD Arbitration in Tax Treaty Law

1. S. 382Introduction

This chapter on Dutch arbitration clauses in income tax treaties (tax treaties) brings an overview of the wide network and variety of clauses negotiated by the Netherlands. It describes how the Dutch economy is influenced by international trade and investment and, consequently, the importance of international treaties as a tool to attract trade and investment, as well as to provide a stable and friendly environment for business.

Is this context, the Netherlands is the country with one of the widest treaty network and the largest number of arbitration clauses included in tax treaties as a method to settle tax disputes.

The core focus in this chapter is on Dutch tax arbitration clauses included in tax treaties, their origin, development and main features. This chapter discusses neither the arbitration procedures foreseen in the EU Arbitration Convention, nor the arbitration clauses included in several bilateral investment treaties signed by the Netherlands.

The second section analyses the international economic context in which Dutch tax policy seeks to provide mechanisms to attract investors to the Netherlands, as well as how the Dutch treaty network has been developed a...