Tax Arbitrage through Cross-Border Financial Engineering

Series in International Taxation Series Volume 50

Tax Arbitrage through Cross-Border Financial Engineering is a comprehensive exploration of tax arbitrage opportunities ensuing from financial engineering techniques with cross-border financial instruments. You’ll discover how to enhance your practice by making use of complex types of arrangements such as hybrids, synthetics, and non-traditional financial instruments, which are able to meet the criteria for favorable tax treatment in multiple jurisdictions.

Enhance your understanding, as the author brings clarity to the beguiling debate on economic substance versus legal form; examining the role of the expected-return taxation theory and proposes an objective benchmark for the taxation of financial instruments to achieve greater international tax neutrality, ultimately promoting global wealth. You’ll benefit from practical guidance to the legislative options available in a number of countries - including Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Luxembourg, Portugal, the United Kingdom and the United States.

How will this benefit you?

Comparative analysis – examples taken from a variety of jurisdictions provide practical demonstrations to help you clearly understand the merits and shortcomings of the different approaches.

Expert guidance – categorization of inconsistencies and discussion of the tax consequences of legislative options already in place will enable you to practice with confidence.

Unique breadth of coverage – providing comprehensive consideration of tax arbitrage opportunities, this guide will quickly bring you up to date with all the information you need.

Benefit from in-depth analysis of pivotal arbitrage potentiating matters arising under tax treaties and EU law, including the following, and more:

• factors that determine the characterization of income under OECD, UN and US income tax model conventions as well as EU Directives, namely in thin cap settings;

• EU law on the denial of tax benefits and cross-border tax arbitrage;

• the debt-equity divide and the vital fictions of the income tax system;

• admissibility of international tax arbitrage;

• building on finance theory, accounting and regulatory rules; and

• notes on OECD BEPS and arm’s length intra-group finance.

Tax Arbitrage through Cross-Border Financial Engineering will be a valuable guide for all those working in the field of tax arbitrage, including tax administrations, taxpayers, multinationals and advisors to financial operations.