This book argues that the proliferation of global trade and the increasing power of free trade arrangements leave income taxes as one of the few remaining measures that can potentially be used for protectionist purposes. It analyzes the interaction between the non-discrimination principles in tax treaties and trade-related agreements including multilateral (WTO), regional (NAFTA, AANZTA) and bilateral free trade agreements. The absence of a non-discrimination obligation with respect to tax measures that apply to non-resident service providers and to non-resident services may, therefore, significantly undermine trade obligations. The book clearly reveals how these tax barriers to trade may unfairly or unnecessarily restrict trade in services, and puts forward a new, more effective non-discrimination obligation in tax matters to be included in tax treaties, one that would more closely parallel the non-discrimination obligations in trade agreements. The book examines the concept of non-discrimination in tax matters from several perspectives, specifically a North American and Australian perspective, as well as a perspective based on EU (and UK) law, focusing on the interaction between these legal systems, bilateral tax treaties, regional trade agreements and, where relevant, the General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). The book explores the possibility of a reciprocal influence between tax treaties and trade agreements, and poses the question as to whether tax treaties might do more in providing a non-discrimination principle in the cross-border trade in services.
About the Author: Catherine Brown is a Professor of Law at the University of Calgary, Canada. She has taught in the area of Taxation throughout the bulk of her career, including Corporate Tax, Taxation & Estate Planning, and International Tax. Her primary research interests are in the areas of international taxation, international trade and estate planning. Her current research explores the interaction of tax and trade agreements in regulating tax discrimination. She was appointed to the Indicative List for Canada to the Dispute Resolution Body of the World Trade Organization and has served on Advisory Committees to the Canada Revenue Agency and as a consultant to the Department of Justice. She was the recipient of the Canadian Tax Foundation Distinguished Writing Award in 2014, the Law Society of Alberta/Canadian Bar Association Alberta Award for Distinguished Service in Legal Scholarship in 2011, and the Widdifield Award in 2006 and 2012 for her contributions in the area of Estate Planning.