This book examines the taxation of Undertakings for the Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) in Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. It analyses the tax consequences of the cross-border trade in units of UCITS for unitholders residing in the countries examined. It also features recommendations to remove the tax advantages and disadvantages that occur in cross-border trading.

The book analyses the taxation of investment funds and their investors from the standpoint of domestic tax laws, tax treaties and EC law. It also provides a comprehensive understanding of the tax issues arising in the cross-border transactions of investment funds and private fund investors in the European Union. The viewpoints of the source state of income, residence state of the investment fund as well as the residence state of the investor are all considered. The book takes a comparative approach by covering five EU Member States (the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Luxembourg and Finland). On the basis of the examination at the Member State level, the present tax rules and practices are tested against the fundamental freedoms of the EC Treaty. The conclusion is that there are still various tax measures that are likely to be in conflict with EC law. The book also discusses possibilities of adopting targeted measures of positive integration at the level of the European Union with a view to enhancing the objective of the single investment fund market.

The Fund Reporting Cloud® has made tax reporting less complex, but comparing the effective tax treatment of investment funds and their investors in an international environment is still an ambitious task. Against this background, this study examines the tax consequences at fund, asset, and investor level. In geographical terms our comparison covers eleven European countries, the USA, and Japan. Our analysis of the relevant tax provisions, which is of a primarily qualitative nature, is complemented by a quantitative comparison of the tax burden for a model investor investing assets nationally in the form of a collective investment. It will be of interest both for investors seeking tax advantages and for governments to check whether there is a need for tax reforms. It also ties in perfectly with the current evaluations at OECD level in the context of TRACE.

This book analyses the taxation of cross-border portfolio investments by means of collective investment institutions. Possible tax distortions specific to the area of collective investment institutions are identified for a representative group of OECD countries.

The effect of the significant changes in tax law at domestic, European, and international levels on investment funds, an important part of global financial services, creates a complex environment for practitioners and a source of debate for academics and policymakers. This is the first book to provide a comprehensive legal and practical analysis of the changes to the complex multilevel tax and regulatory framework concerning different types of investment funds. The contributions, updated as of late 2017, were originally presented at a conference held at the University of Luxembourg in November 2016 under the auspices of the ATOZ Chair for European and International Taxation. The book covers the central questions arising in national law and tax policy, explores the regulatory and tax framework of the European Union (EU), and discusses the multifaceted interactions of both national and EU law with bilateral tax treaties. Through fourteen chapters following a brief introduction, leading academic experts and practising specialists provide decisive insight into: – the regulatory regime for European investment funds; – the tax law and reforms in both Luxembourg and Germany; – the role of the European Commission’s State-aid practices; – examples of case law concerning the application of non-discrimination rules to various investment vehicles; – the impact of tax-specific EU legislation, such as the Parent-Subsidiary Directive, the Tax Merger Directive, and the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive; – the availability of tax treaty protection for different collective and non-collective investment funds; – the impact of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) developments on the taxation of cross-border investments; – the value-added tax (VAT) treatment of investment funds and their managers; and – the consequences of the global drive towards automatic exchange of information relating to existing cross-border investment structures. With its particular focus on Luxembourg – the leading centre for investment funds in Europe (and second only to the United States globally) and, thus, an instructive model for domestic-level investment fund regulation and taxation – this volume reveals the common issues that arise in virtually every other jurisdiction with a sizeable fund industry. As the first in-depth treatment of the globally significant nexus between investment funds and taxation, the book will prove valuable to policymakers, practitioners, and academics in both financial services and tax law.

The emergence of crypto assets has required taxation authorities worldwide to develop unprecedented policies and compelled tax lawyers to apply existing laws in new ways. This book – the only one to focus solely on the taxation of crypto assets – provides a detailed country-by-country analysis of how the tax law of thirty-nine countries may apply to this rapidly developing area, including different use cases and compliance and documentation requirements. Following an overview of the technology and key characteristics of crypto assets, as well as the key tax concepts and types of taxes that could apply to them, leading practitioners in each particular jurisdiction summarize the relevant tax law in that country. Fully explained are such aspects of crypto assets as the following and how they are interrelated: sales; exchanges; receipt as remuneration; forks; airdrops; mining; staking; initial coin offerings; security token offerings; and initial exchange offerings. Contributors describe how each jurisdiction applies income and capital gains taxation, value-added tax and sales tax, withholding taxes, transfer taxes, and gift, inheritance, estate and wealth taxes in the context of crypto assets. Reporting requirements and enforcement are also covered. Tax law, as it applies to crypto assets, is new and continues to evolve. This book will be welcomed as the premier resource for tax practitioners, government officials, advisors, investors, issuers, users of crypto assets, and taxation academics who are seeking informed awareness of the policy choices countries make in dealing with the taxation of this new technology. Tax lawyers dealing with crypto assets will have comprehensive practical guidance on how to comply with the tax laws of multiple jurisdictions.

CJEU - The most important cases in the field of direct taxation A great number of cases pending before the European Court of Justice (CJEU) concern the fundamental freedoms and state aid in respect of direct taxation. In particular, the number of infringement procedures brought before the CJEU by the European Commission has been increasing year on year. The CJEU is a driving force in the field of direct tax harmonization. All judgments and pending cases, therefore, have to be carefully analysed by academics as well as practitioners. This book discusses the most important cases in the field of direct taxation pending before or recently decided by the CJEU. Moreover, the national background of these cases is discussed and possible infringements of the fundamental freedoms and state aid rules are analysed. The analyses are presented by esteemed national and European tax law experts. The authors focus on the preliminary questions submitted to the CJEU by the national courts and the CJEU case law which could be of relevance for driving future judgments. This book goes to the heart of the national tax systems, exposing hidden obstacles to the fundamental freedoms.