International and Foreign Tax Law Research Guide

The European Union, IBFD, the OECD, and the United Nations are reliable sources of credible information about international and comparative tax law and policy. Much of this information is freely accessible on their respective websites.
 

European Union

Although the European Union does not set tax rates for its 28 members states, it does promote the harmonization of tax policy, particularly with respect to indirect taxation (VAT and excise taxes), in order to ensure the free movement of goods, services, and capital within the single European market.  

• The following EU publications are available for download in PDF format: 
  • The European Union Explained:  Taxation (2015)
  • Taxation Trends in the European Union (2018 edition)
  • Tax Reforms in EU Member States (2015)
     
• The European Commission, the executive arm of the EU, maintains the following resources:
  • Web portal for EU Taxation and Customs Information
  • EU Commission's Digital Services Tax initiative
    This page provides provides background information about the Commissions' proposal for a digital services tax and links to related documentation, including a fact sheet, a Q&A memo, and a press release (scroll all the way down). 
  • Taxes in Europe Database 
    Provides information about income taxes, value added taxes, excise duties, and social security taxes collected by each of the EU's 28 member states.  Offers both a Basic Search tool and an Advanced Search tool. 
     
• EUR-Lex is the EU's legislative database.  To search efficiently for EU tax legislation, use the Advanced Search template.  Alternatively, use one or more of the following browse options:
   
  • Browse by Subject (taxation) for:
    • EU Legislation (as enacted, without subsequent amendments)
    • Consolidated EU Legislation (incorporating subsequent amendments)
       
  • Browse for Summaries of EU Legislation by subject (taxation).
     
• Curia is the EU's judicial database, which provides free access to opinions issued by the Court of Justice and the General Court.  To limit searches to tax cases, use the Advanced Search template and select taxation as the subject matter.  (You may also select one or more tax-related sub-topics).
   
• For further information about EU law, consult the Law Library's European Union Research Guide.

International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD)

Founded in Amsterdam in 1938, IBFD is widely considered to be the world's foremost authority on cross-border taxation.  The Georgetown Law Library provides members of the GULC community with full access to all of IBFD's subscription-based content via the IBFD Tax Research Platform.  IBFD offers a limited amount of free content (described below) on its website.  To access this free content, you must register with IBFD and create a user name and password.

• IBFD Newsletter
• RSS Feeds of Tax News Service Headlines
• IBFD White Papers (concise and authoritative topical reports)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)

The OECD provides a forum in which its 37 member countries can share data and develop solutions to common problems on matters related to economic and social policy, including taxation.  

• The tax section of the OECD website contains a wealth of information.  To browse by topic, use the menu displayed on the left side of the landing page.  Alternatively, click on the Country tab to browse by jurisdiction. The following resources also are available:
  • OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit-Shifting Project (BEPS)
  • OECD/Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Assistance in Administrative Matters
  • OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and Capital
  • OECD Tax Database (Tax rates, income thresholds, and revenue collection statistics for OECD members)
  • OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines
     
• OECD iLibrary  Members of the GULC community may access this subscription database, which includes annual publications, working papers, and statistics that are not freely available on the OECD's public web site.  To browse publications, select either Browse by Theme (taxation) or Browse by Theme & Country fom the blue menu bar at the top of the homepage.  To search for publications by theme or by country, use the advanced search template (linked below the basic search box at the top of the homepage).

United Nations

The U.N.'s Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters is responsible for periodically reviewing and updating the following resources:

• U.N. Model Double Taxation Convention Between Developed and Developing Countries (2021)
• U.N. Model Double Taxation Convention between Developed and Developing Countries (2017) 
• U.N. Manual for the Negotiation of Bilateral Tax Treaties between Developed and Developing Countries (2019).

The U.N. also provides access to additional material on international cooperation in tax matters:  

• Documents (background papers, resolutions, and reports)
• Publications (model treaty in multiple languages; manuals on treaty negotiation & transfer pricing)
• Other Issue-Specific Materials:
  • Base Erosion and Profit-Shifting
  • Exchange of Information on Tax Matters
  • Taxation of Extractive Industries
  • Transfer Pricing