Anti-Abuse Rules in International Tax Law and their Interactions

1. Introduction

Following the latest update of the UN Model in 2021 that occurred after the publication of a paper by the Platform for Collaboration on Tax, the taxation of gains realized by residents of one country from the (indirect) alienation of shares in imS. 316movable property companies located in another country gained international focus. These discussions led to amendments to the UN Model that introduced various taxing rights for source states. Moreover, the 2017 update of the OECD Model influenced by the OECD BEPS Project amended Article 13(4) to adress capital gains taxation from the indirect alienation of shares in immovable property companies. Its main objective is to ensure that gains are taxed in the country where the immovable property is located.

This thesis analyzes the distributive rules of Article 13(4) OECD Model and Articles 13(4), 13(5), and 13(7) UN Model. However, it does not examine the direct transfer of rights to use natural resources under Article 13(6) UN Model nor the indirect transfer of such rights under Article 13(7) UN Model. Chapter 2 describes the key concepts of Article 13(4), namely, shares in immovable property companies and comparable interests, th...