International juridical double taxation constitutes a significant obstacle for the development of cross-border business activities. Even though this problem has been combated for decades with ever more sophisticated methods, many difficulties are yet to be conquered.

This book deals with problems regarding international double taxation in cross-border partnership structures. The heterogeneity of these business vehicles constitutes a challenging factor for countries' legislation on foreign-entity classification. As these regimes typically disregard the tax treatment of foreign entities for domestic tax purposes, cross-border partnerships often face the risk of being treated as taxable persons in one country but as transparent in another. This is referred to as asymmetrical situations.

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As shown in this book, international double taxation arising in asymmetrical situations fits badly into countries' regimes for double-tax relief. As a result, there is a considerable risk that international double taxation arising in asymmetrical situations is not appropriately relieved. In addition to identifying and analyzing the reasons for these problems, this book presents potential approaches on how to deal with them de lege ferenda.

• Chapter One: Introduction
• Chapter Two: The Legal Nature of Partnerships
• Chapter Three: Taxation of Cross-Border Business Structures
• Chapter Four: Asymmetrical Taxation
• Chapter Five: The Applicability of the OECU Model Tax Convention in Asymmetrical Situations
• Chapter Six: Swedish Approach to Double Tax Relief in Asymmetrical Situations
• Chapter Seven: Approaches to Preventing Double Taxation in Asymmetrical Situations
• Chapter Eight: The Swedish Similarity Approach
• Chapter Nine: Final Analysis

Dr Jesper Barenfeld works as Tax Policy Advisor for the Confederation of Swedish Enterprise and deals predominantly with international tax policy issues. He also holds the positions of Affiliated Faculty Member at Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping and Senior Fellow in the Taxation Law and Policy Research Institute at Monash University, Melbourne.

The mission of the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation is: “[T]o maintain a knowledge centre providing information about and explanations of international taxation and promoting the study of taxation in general” (Art. 2 of the articles of association). True to this mission, and aware that access to doctoral theses is often limited, IBFD has taken the initiative to make available to a wider public a series of books based on doctoral research, meeting the highest academic standards.

Only contributions that enhance the international academic tax debate are accepted. In order to ensure high quality, every thesis published in this series has been reviewed by academic members of the Board of Trustees, senior IBFD research staff or prominent tax academics worldwide. The series aims to cover all aspects of comparative and international taxation, not only in respect of income tax, but also in respect of VAT and of inheritance, estate and gift taxes.