Tax Treaty Interpretation

International tax practice demands a constantly renewed understanding of tax treaty provisions and how they are applied. Practitioners working with Western European taxation must master the further complexity introduced by the interplay between Community law and national law, especially as it affects the administration of tax law in the various countries. This text is a detailed survey of tax treaty interpretation in the 15 EU states plus Norway. Presented as 16 national reports by authorities from each country, the analysis provided is the result of a conference sponsored by the European Commission and held in Rust, Austria, in January 2001. Each report gives an organized, in-depth summation of the discussion as it related to the country in question, amalgamating the research and commentary brought to the conference by sixty experts in all. "Tax Treaty Interpretation" builds on the 1993 analysis of Klaus Vogel and Rainer Prokisch for the International Fiscal Association (IFA), and takes full account of such developments as the following: court decisions since 1993; the OECD report on partnerships; changes in administrative practice at the national level; and recent Community law affecting taxation and tax practice.