The Role of Tax Treaties in International Taxation

Abstract

Given the globalisation of the economies of the nations in the world, it became inevitable that the business rules of these nation states would interact. When taxpayers of one nation began to do business with taxpayers in other countries, conflicts and inconsistencies began to develop. Two or more nations started to tax the income and transactions of a single entity which created double taxation problems. Such problems could have deterred a business from operating globally. So some vehicle was needed that could not be provided by a single country acting on its own. Some agreement had to be entered into by two or more countries to prevent this deterrent from stifling worldwide business. Such agreements are the tax treaties in this paper.