2023 IFA International Tax Student Writing Award; Call For Entrants In 2024 Competition

The winner of the International Fiscal Association's 2023 International Tax Student Writing Competition is: 

Takato Masuda (NYU), The Controversy over the Tax Treaty Compatibility of the UTPR

Faculty Sponsor: Mitchell Kane

Some commentators have argued that the UTPR would conflict with existing tax treaties. This argument now appears in the U.S. political context as well. In reality, however, a critical mass of jurisdictions other than the U.S. is firmly preparing to implement the UTPR. Apparently, criticism against UTPR was not widely accepted in the end. How could this happen? This paper examines the critical arguments against the UTPR.

In Chapter II, this paper examines the tax treaty provisions that potentially conflict with the UTPR in the following order: the business profit provision and saving clause, the PE attributable profit provision (arm’s length principle), the ownership non-discrimination clause, and the PE non-discrimination clause. The section that follows presents issues regarding applicable treaties. The last section of that chapter introduces findings from prior research that the UTPR is not a covered tax under the treaty. Chapter III discusses Japanese case law regarding the business profit provision to reinforce the arguments made in the preceding chapter. Chapter IV is the conclusion.

2024 IFA International Tax Student Writing Competition

Subject: Any topic relating to U.S. taxation of income from international activities, including taxation under U.S. tax treaties.

• Open to: All students during the 2023-24 academic year pursuing a graduate degree. Any appropriate papers written in fall 2023 or spring and summer 2024.
• Submission Deadline:  September 30, 2024.
• Prize: $5,000 cash, plus expenses-paid invitation to the IFA USA Branch Annual Meeting in Spring 2025. The faculty advisor of the winning submission will also receive an expenses-paid invitation to the annual meeting.