The 2010 OECD Updates: Model Tax Convention & Transfer Pricing Guidelines – A Critical Review

Virtually all international taxation provisions ultimately stem from two fundamental sources, both originating at the OECD: The Model Tax Convention (on which more than 3,000 bilateral tax treaties are based), and the Transfer Pricing Guidelines.

During 2010, major revisions were made to both. This is the first publication to describe and analyse these amendments in depth. From a variety of perspectives, thirteen experts – lawyers, tax directors, representatives of the OECD and of tax administrations, and academics – discuss the updates and the issues that may arise regarding their interpretation and application.

The significant changes covered include:

• application of tax treaties to collective investment vehicles;
• application of tax treaties to state-owned entities, including sovereign wealth funds;
• issues regarding short-term cross-border employment income;
• application of tax treaties to international telecommunication operations;
• selection of the most appropriate transfer pricing method to the circumstances of the case;
• the transfer pricing aspects of business restructurings;
• how to apply transactional profit methods; and
• how to perform a comparability analysis.