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BEPS Action 6: preventing treaty abuse

Michael McGowan, Andrew Thomson and Emma Hardwick (Sullivan & Cromwell) review Action 6 of the BEPS report.

 At the core of the Action 6 report are proposed anti-treaty shopping provisions for tax treaties:

  • a clear statement in the treaty title and preamble that the contracting states wish to prevent tax avoidance;
  • plus:
    • a limitation on benefits (LOB) rule plus a principal purpose test (PPT); or
    • the PPT on its own; or
    • a limitation on benefits rule plus an anti-conduit mechanism (possibly in the form of a restricted PPT).

An LOB rule is intended to be relatively certain but is complex and can be uncertain or unpredictable at the margin. A PPT is less complex but is inherently uncertain. From the taxpayer’s perspective combining the two gives the worst of both worlds particularly if tax authorities are not resourced to give

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