The Institute for Austrian and International Tax Law in cooperation with the Doctoral Program for International Business Taxation organized the conference:

"Tax Treaty Arbitration"

It took place July 5-7, 2018, in Rust (Burgenland), Austria.

The conference focused on arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism in international tax treaty practice. In a highly interactive environment, reporters from all over the world came together to share their experiences on how the tax treaty dispute resolution mechanisms are implemented in their jurisdictions, what measures work in which contexts and what insights they can provide for other countries. The main focus of the discussions was whether arbitration is an “answer” for solving tax treaty disputes and the effectiveness of Mutual Agreement Procedures or other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms in general. The national reporters addressed different procedural aspects of arbitration, the arbitration methods and decisions, and the relevant players in arbitration procedures. In addition, particular focus was being put on the relevance of the OECD Arbitration Model, the BEPS Project, the Multilateral Instrument and the EU Arbitration Convention with regard to arbitration provisions in bilateral tax treaties. Using the comparative approach in the analysis, we aimed to provide the practical assessment of arbitration as a dispute resolution mechanism, its effectiveness and its expected practical impact in the future.

Additionally we invited doctoral candidates in this field to apply for a doctorate workshop preceding the conference, at which the were able to present their research to an interested audience.

Please find the conference invitation and questionnaire below:

• Invitation

• Questionnaire