Corporate Social Responsibility at International School of Management

• progressive income tax
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Why Taxation?

 Everyday‘s life (and death)
 Politics
 Business
 Legal practice (not necessarily tax law practice)

 Economic perspective:
 any imposition of costs on individuals/firms by the government
e.g.: inflation, regulatory requirements
 Legal perspective:
 “Any required payments to government” ?
Under and over inclusive definition!

 OECD, Revenue Statistics 1965-2016, 2017:
“compulsory, unrequited payments to general government. They are
unrequited in that benefits provided by governments to taxpayers are not
normally allocated in proportion to their payments”
User fees not included
Taxes are designed as a means to fund general revenues

Compulsory contribution: “monetary contribution unilaterally
imposed under public law which serves (at least in part) to raise
revenues and is payable to a public authority”
Penalties
Fees
Special contribution
Taxes
Such systematic distinction is more blurred in common law countries (e.g. US,
Shoe and Sebelius cases)

Taxes vs. fees/special contributions
 Why/when does the distinction matter?

Taxes vs. fees/special contributions
 Why/when does the distinction matter?
 Domestic constitutional issue (see e.g. US Supreme Court, Sebelius)
 Application of double tax treaties
 Application of EU Law (see ECJ, de Ruyter)
 Application of EU Law vis a vis double tax treaties (see, ECJ, Derouin)
 Foreign tax credit
 Contractual issues
 Extradition issues
 Diplomatic immunity

o Tax Court of Canada, Niemeijer v. R, judgement of 14 Dec 2009: foreign tax
credit for SSCs.
o ECJ, de Ruyter
o ECJ, Derouin

 Income taxes:
 Individual income tax
 Corporate income tax
 Consumption taxes:
 Value Added Tax (VAT)/Goods and Service Tax (“GST”)
 Sales taxes
 Excise taxes
 Custom duties/tariffs
 Transaction taxes:
 Registration taxes
 Stamp duties
 Finacial transaction taxes
 Wealth taxes:
 Property taxes
 Inheritance and gift taxes