Article 26 of the OECD Model Convention on Income and Capital establishes rules for the exchange of information by the Competent Authorities of the of the treaty-partner States. Paragraph 1 provides that the information requested must be “foreseeably relevant for carrying out the provisions of the Convention or to the administration or enforcement of the domestic law concerning taxes of every kind and description.” Paragraph 2 goes on to provide that the information received must be “treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic laws of [the receiving] State and shall be disclosed only to persons concerned with the assessment or collection of the taxes referred to in Paragraph 1.
This panel during the 24th Annual U.S. and Europe Tax Practice Trends Conference will address the application of Article 26 in real life situations by exploring:
- Recently revved-up requests made by certain countries that aggressively seek information.
- Experience involving requests made by countries that have domestic law provisions inconsistent with the safeguards of Paragraph 2.
- Experience of target individuals attempting to intervene in the information exchange process when sought-after records are held by third-party financial institutions in the responding jurisdiction.
- The Corporate Transparency Act in the U.S. and the way it may become a game-changer because of the data on ownership and controlling persons that will be gathered by the IRS.
Speakers:
- Melissa L. Wiley, Lowenstein Sandler LLP
- Gary Ashford, Harbottle & Lewis
- Federico Di Cesare, Macchi di Cellere Gangemi
- Ksenia Iliyash, Schellenberg Wittmer
- Ashish Mehta, Khaitan & Co
- Susann Sturm, Rödl & Partner
Time: 10–11:15 a.m. CET
Location: Hotel Bayerischer Hof, 2-6 Promenadeplatz, Munich, Germany
