books/courses on international taxation

[Cari]

Hi!

Could you recommend any online courses/books on international taxation?
I am not interested in the basic courses offered by non-professionals. I need some deep-knowledge from accountants/lawyers/university professors.
Would be grateful if you can recommend any good options.

 

[bubbledouble]

You think of this tax expert
https://www.offshorecorptalk.com/threads/andrews-tate-zero-taxe-advice-works-in-uk-and-usa.41236/

 

[JohnLocke]

There is this one, just as one of many.
https://www.myswitzerland.com/en-ch/experiences/events/international-tax-conference-2024/

 

[JohnnyDoe]

The IBFD manuals are a good start

 

[AtlasShrugged]

The IBFD manuals are a good start

View attachment 6766

This is the first time in my life I see books for 400- 800 bucks. Books | IBFD

 

[daniels27]

For what scenario do you need the knowledge?

 

[JohnnyDoe]

This is the first time in my life I see books for 400- 800 bucks. Books | IBFD

It’s not unusual for professional publications. Knowledge is priceless anyway.

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

Try Roy Rohatgi's books.
Or take the ADIT , a professional diploma on advanced international taxation offerred by the chartered Institute of taxation in the UK

 

[Don]

The IBFD manuals are a good start

IBFD also provides online courses and useful webinars (paid).
Just to name a few titles if one wants to study specific topics:

• Substance requirements in post-BEPS international tax planning
• Effective international tax dispute resolution
• PE Risks and Opportunities in International Tax Structuring in the Post-BEPS Era
• Post-BEPS holding, finance and IP Companies in international tax structuring
• Tax Treaty Aspects of Corporate International Tax Structuring
• Transfer Pricing Aspects of Corporate International Tax Structuring

 

[scooterguy]

Rules change all the time.

Best you can do is just read a lot about taxation and over the years it will become second nature.

Read the pwc summaries (Worldwide Tax Summaries Online), read tax treaties, etc.

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

Rules change all the time.

Best you can do is just read a lot about taxation and over the years it will become second nature.

Read the pwc summaries (Worldwide Tax Summaries Online), read tax treaties, etc.

I don't agree with this approach if your intention is to be really good at it. I think that clearly understanding the general principles of international taxation is of primary importance to understanding how things work.

 

[scooterguy]

I don't agree with this approach if your intention is to be really good at it. I think that clearly understanding the general principles of international taxation is of primary importance to understanding how things work.

You don't agree with the approach of reading through the years? So how do you learn about the "principles of international taxation to understand how things work"?

Or are you implying that it's impossible and so a person needs the services of a reputable Cyprus lawyer for their international taxation needs?

 

[daniels27]

You don't agree with the approach of reading through the years? So how do you learn about the "principles of international taxation to understand how things work"?

Or are you implying that it's impossible and so a person needs the services of a reputable Cyprus lawyer for their international taxation needs?

I think his point is that you need to have a solid base knowledge in order to understand the PWC summaries as they do not cover the bases.

While I would generally agree to that. I personally would not put too much weight on the basic knowledge taught in universities etc. The main problem with those schools is that they mainly focus on a very narrow point of view, which generally is big corporations in their home market. Then, unfortunately the so called bases are based on the present situation which takes way too much space and as soon as the next financial crisis comes, things are overturn.

Of course, you need to understand how a double taxation treaty works or you need to know what international private law is and that it actually could take precedence over the taught law in school:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conflict_of_laws
But then, most of the leg work in getting things done is to look for the law and read it. Don't trust anybody unless you can verify what they say in the actual law. I really recommend anybody to get used to read the law themselves.

 

[Don]

You don't agree with the approach of reading through the years? So how do you learn about the "principles of international taxation to understand how things work"?

Or are you implying that it's impossible and so a person needs the services of a reputable Cyprus lawyer for their international taxation needs?

You will always need to understand the national laws of the state, but noone has time to study the law of each state.
It can get quite complex sometimes as structures and types of income might be treated differently across jurisdictions, so
international tax advice is often provided in collaboration with multiple advisers.
And especially regarding Cyprus, if you don't know Greek you might have hard time reading the Cyprus laws. They don't publish official translations to English as far as I know.

For a basic structure with a little effort one can probably figure things out on his own though.

 

[CyprusLawyer101]

You don't agree with the approach of reading through the years? So how do you learn about the "principles of international taxation to understand how things work"?

Or are you implying that it's impossible and so a person needs the services of a reputable Cyprus lawyer for their international taxation needs?

Hey,
I am not implying anything about needing the services of that cyprus international tax idiot lawyer. I m approaching the matter as a student myself and all i am saying is that there are certain basics which if understood well can really make a difference both in simple cases as well as in complex ones. For example clearly understanding principles such as residence, source, situs etc. can act as a guide in understanding difficult interpretations as well as the intentions of legislators and be able to deal with difficult cases in grey areas and eventually navigate safely. Of course not everybody has to do this, that is why i said "if your intention is to be really good at it".

 

[scooterguy]

You will always need to understand the national laws of the state, but noone has time to study the law of each state.
It can get quite complex sometimes as structures and types of income might be treated differently across jurisdictions, so
international tax advice is often provided in collaboration with multiple advisers.
And especially regarding Cyprus, if you don't know Greek you might have hard time reading the Cyprus laws. They don't publish official translations to English as far as I know.

For a basic structure with a little effort one can probably figure things out on his own though.

I agree with this.

But that's the thing, you can get really good at international taxation, but of course that for complex local structures you will need someone who knows the local stuff.

International taxation is somehow akin to general medicine. You can get really good at knowing what's going on with a patient and what will probably be good for his/her symptoms, and you can even take care of them if simple/generic enough, but if they are too complex, require surgery or other treatments, you'll refer the patient to the appropriate specialist.

But by doing so you are still a really good primary care doctor, you simply cannot do everything yourself.

And back to the initial premise: how do you get knowledge about international taxation? There is no way around it other than reading and reading. There is no shortcut.

But the good news is that everything is online in tax treaties, summaries, OECD documents, IRS website, etc. Even concepts such as residence, source, etc. are all in there and those definitions vary by country (or are applied differenty in each) as well.

For instance, the books that JohnnyDoe showed, although they look intimidating, are just overviews of around 100 tax jurisdictions, very similar to what one can find in PwC or Deloitte summaries.

Hey,
I am not implying anything about needing the services of that cyprus international tax idiot lawyer. I m approaching the matter as a student myself and all i am saying is that there are certain basics which if understood well can really make a difference both in simple cases as well as in complex ones. For example clearly understanding principles such as residence, source, situs etc. can act as a guide in understanding difficult interpretations as well as the intentions of legislators and be able to deal with difficult cases in grey areas and eventually navigate safely. Of course not everybody has to do this, that is why i said "if your intention is to be really good at it".

Ok, I see your point.

 

[Nicholas Van Orton]

I agree with this.

But that's the thing, you can get really good at international taxation, but of course that for complex local structures you will need someone who knows the local stuff.

International taxation is somehow akin to general medicine. You can get really good at knowing what's going on with a patient and what will probably be good for his/her symptoms, and you can even take care of them if simple/generic enough, but if they are too complex, require surgery or other treatments, you'll refer the patient to the appropriate specialist.

But by doing so you are still a really good primary care doctor, you simply cannot do everything yourself.

And back to the initial premise: how do you get knowledge about international taxation? There is no way around it other than reading and reading. There is no shortcut.

But the good news is that everything is online in tax treaties, summaries, OECD documents, IRS website, etc. Even concepts such as residence, source, etc. are all in there and those definitions vary by country (or are applied differenty in each) as well.

For instance, the books that JohnnyDoe showed, although they look intimidating, are just overviews of around 100 tax jurisdictions, very similar to what one can find in PwC or Deloitte summaries.



Ok, I see your point.

Despite the controversy (sort of, lol), OP @scooterguy has some valid points; in particular, that the PWC free docs provide more or less the same value as IBFD's books. IBFD's resources are worth exploring IMHO (webinars and other online specific mateiral that you may find better suited for your particular needs).

@CyprusLawyer101 's Roy Rohatgi's recommendation I think will aso prove to be valuable to some members.

Just the 0.02 of a noob that has delved into this topic and these "providers" a bit in depth (and continuing to do so...).

NVO

 

[GPT]

The IBFD manuals are a good start

View attachment 6766

Owh man, seeing this and I got cold chills up my spine. Your series is newer than mine