Beneficial ownership

: interpretation of the beneficial owner concept in tax treaty practice and European Union Law

Abstract

Despite its long history, the beneficial ownership concept has raised many controversies over the years and continues to be one of the most debated terms in international tax law, due to its ambiguous definition. The OECD Model and EU law do not provide a clear definition for the term and the lack of harmonization of the concept has led Courts to apply different interpretations according to their own perspectives. The interconnection between the beneficial owner and abuse of rights has also been put on trial on several occasions, echoing the doubts surrounding the beneficial ownership term. The European Court of Justice recently issued two landmark decisions with important outcomes for the beneficial ownership concept and a new reading of the subject-to-tax clause, interpreted as requiring effective taxation.

Date of Award	30 Sept 2021
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	João Sérgio Ribeiro (Supervisor)