Policy Forum: Much Ado About Doing Not Much: Some Reflections on the Jurisdiction To Tax Business Transactions

Malcolm Gammie ()
Additional contact information
Malcolm Gammie: Institute for Fiscal Studies, London, United Kingdom

Canadian Tax Journal, 2020, vol. 68, issue 4, 1069-1082

Abstract: Most states aim to tax in one way or another the outputs, products, or profits of business activity conducted within their jurisdiction. The scope to tax is limited, however, when the business is based abroad and trades only with persons in the state in question. A starting point in such situations is to consider whether the state can claim jurisdiction over a foreign business to enforce its claims. The next question is whether the subject matter of the tax charge—the tax base—is amenable to the state's jurisdiction. In this respect, different considerations apply in imposing a consumption tax, such as value-added tax (VAT), as compared with a business profits tax. This article looks first at the common-law jurisdictional basis adopted by the English courts before considering the test developed by the UK courts in the 19th and early 20th centuries to determine whether the profits of a business based abroad nevertheless fall within the United Kingdom's taxing jurisdiction. The UK approach to taxing the profits of UK business activity by a foreign business is then contrasted with the approach adopted for VAT as applied, in particular, to the remote supply of digital services from abroad. The United Kingdom's rules currently derive from EU directives, and it remains open whether they will diverge over time following Brexit.

Keywords: Jurisdiction; non-residents; electronic commerce; United Kingdom; jurisprudence; value-added tax (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.ctf.ca/EN/Publications/CTJ_Contents/2020CTJ4.aspx (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ctf:journl:v:68:y:2020:i:4:p:1069-1082

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
Canadian Tax Foundation, 145 Wellington Street West, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 1H8
https://www.ctf.ca/E ... ns_ListingBooks.aspx

DOI: 10.32721/ctj.2020.68.4.pf.gammie

Access Statistics for this article

Canadian Tax Journal is currently edited by Kim Brooks, Kevin Milligan, and Daniel Sandler

More articles in Canadian Tax Journal from Canadian Tax Foundation Canadian Tax Foundation, 145 Wellington Street West, Suite 1400, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5J 1H8.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Jim Lyons ().