Title: Is international e-commerce an HIV tax issue?

Authors: Jeff Mukadi Ngoy

Addresses: Kansai University Law School, 2-8-20-409 Itakano, Higashi Yodogawa-ku, Osaka-Fu, Osaka-Shi, 533-0001, Japan

Abstract: Due to the fact that since its emergence a decade ago, and in spite of the last attempt by the OECD, international e-commerce still remains insolvent, I propose an approach consisting in applying what I call the Permanent Establishment (PE) function test to e-commerce infrastructures in order to see whether they qualify for being fiscally treated as PE, if they pass the concerned test. The question is no more whether a website or server can be or constitutes a PE but whether these infrastructures substantially have the same function or play the same role as any form of established PE in international business. As my conclusion is that some of them substantially have the same function as the category of office PE, I say they should be fiscally treated as this category of PE no matter the form they have. This is an application of the substance over form doctrine to the international e-commerce.

Keywords: ISP; server; website; PE function test; business model; substance over form; international source; international income; source taxation; preservation of domestic tax base.

DOI: 10.1504/IJSTM.2003.002571

International Journal of Services Technology and Management, 2003 Vol.4 No.1, pp.53-65

Published online: 24 Jul 2003 *

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