CPD/CPT Course:
International
Taxation Law

Dr. Julien Chaisse currently serves as professor at the City University of Hong Kong (CityU), School of Law.  He is an award-winning and world-renowned expert on international economic law (trade, investment, and tax), cyberlaw, and international dispute resolution.  His work has garnered wide academic recognition and has been cited by international courts/tribunals as well as the U.S. Courts.  He is the awardee of the Humanities and Social Sciences Prestigious Fellowship (2021) and the recipient of the Smit-Lowenfeld Prize from the International Arbitration Club of New York (2020).  He also sits on the editorial boards of several high impact academic journals, and serves as Editor-in-Chief of the Asia Pacific Law Review.

Dr. Chaisse is an accomplished senior arbitrator.  Numbers of his adjudications have been reported by local and international press.  He is frequently called upon as an expert witness in international trade/investment litigation and arbitration, to advise international organizations, governments, law firms, and private investors on private/public international law issues (e.g., concessions contracts, special economic zones, investment structuring, state and international organization immunities, and WTO accession), and he has assisted over twenty jurisdictions in drafting trade/investment treaties and legislation.

Dr. Chaisse is currently President and Chair of the Asia Pacific FDI Network (APFN), which is the most important organization in the region that focuses on researching foreign direct investment and facilitating cooperation among over 100 scholars and 50 institutions.  He has extensive experience working as a corporate board member, and serving on the board of directors/advisory board for a number of international organizations, including the World Free Zone Convention (WFZC), the Academy of International Dispute Resolution & Professional Negotiation (AIDRN), the National Institute of Malaysian and International Studies (IKMAS), and the Asian Academy of International Law (AAIL).  In addition, Dr. Chaisse is an active member of the World Economic Forum (“Tax and Globalization Working Group” and “Data Policy Platform”), a member of the Hong Kong’s Government Board of Review (Inland Revenue Ordinance), an advisor and partner to the United Nations ARTNET on FDI, and a member of the Academic Forum on Investor-state Dispute Settlement.  He also serves as Director of the Dot Trademark Policy Committee (DTPC), a co-founder of the Internet Intellectual Property Institute (IIPI), and is a member of the ICANN’s Working Group, which produced the Report of the Review of All Rights Protection Mechanisms in All gTLDs, among other highly-regarded white papers.

Prior to joining CityU Law School, Dr. Chaisse taught at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Law (2009-2019) where he served as Director of one the Faculty’s research centres as well as Director of PhD & MPhil Program.  Before moving to Hong Kong, he worked as deputy head of the working group on the rules and regulations for multilateral trade and investment agreements at the World Trade Institute in Bern, Switzerland (2006-2009), as a lecturer at Elite School Sciences Po Aix in France (2004-2006), and as a diplomat for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of France at the French Embassy in New Delhi, India (2001-2004).

This course provides an introduction to international taxation which is the study or determination of tax on a person or business subject to the tax laws of different countries or the international aspects of an individual country's tax laws as the case may be.  Many governments tax individuals and/or enterprises on income.  Such systems of taxation vary widely, and there are no broad general rules. These variations create the potential for double taxation (where the same income is taxed by different countries) and no taxation (where income is not taxed by any country).

The course focuses on the Hong Kong's approach towards international taxation which is of high relevance for lawyers involved in cross-border transaction and litigation.  Hong Kong SAR has managed to conclude a significant numbers of tax treaties in an incredible short time.  Hong Kong SAR’s tax treaty network is quite remarkable.  Many important countries belong to Hong Kong SAR’s tax treaty partners.  Tax treaties allocate taxation rights to the two contracting states.  Tax treaty provisions make sure that income and property may only be taxed once.

The object and purpose of tax treaties is to avoid double taxation.  For a jurisdiction like Hong Kong SAR it is not obvious to have such a tax treaty network or to have treaties at all: since Hong Kong SAR has a territorial system of taxation foreign income is not taxed in the hands of Hong Kong SAR residence.  They should not suffer under double taxation.  However, foreign investors may be exposed to double taxation.  They might be taxed in Hong Kong SAR with their Hong Kong SAR sourced income and in their residence state as well.

This course covers principles of Hong Kong tax policy, tax treaties with foreign countries and political forces that shape international tax policy.

• Tax residency
• Permanent establishment
• Withholding taxes
• Income from employment
• Tax exemptions
• Harmonization of tax rates
• Provisions unique to inheritance taxes
• Double tax relief
• Mutual enforcement
• Tax information exchange agreement
• Dispute resolution
• Limitations on benefits
• Priority of law