Research On The Concept And Identification Of Royalties In International Tax Treaties

The emergence of the knowledge economy has changed the main economic forms of international communication,with intellectual property(IP)licensing and the royalties as payment for them as just one example.There is significant indeterminacy surrounding the application of the rules regarding royalties by contracting states/OECD/UN/IFA as such rules are based on traditional business models in double tax treaties and have no universality and practical significance.As such,it is extremely difficult to make a distinction between royalties and other taxable income(e.g.business profits,technical service fees or capital gains).In light of this,this dissertation analyses the concept and range of royalties by right,identifies various problems associated with royalties in international tax treaties,and constructs an effective method combat this utilizing the theory of usufructuary right so as to perfect the method of confirmation of royalties in tax treaties with a particular focus on China's rules.In order to do so this dissertation is divided into five parts.The first part,utilizing a historic analysis of the concept of royalties in international tax treaties,traces the conceptual changes of royalties.In the second part,this dissertation analyses the current rules concerning royalties found in international tax treaties,with a focus on software copyright,know-how,industry right and the leasing.In the third part,the author devises a method,based on the theory of usufructuary rights,to deal with the identification of royalties in international tax treaties.The fourth section applies the theory developed in section three to issues regarding in software copyright royalties,know-how royalties,industry right royalties and leasing royalties.The fifth section acts as a case study,focusing on the confirmation problems of royalties in Chinese treaties and the administrative regulations of the State Administration of Taxation,utilizing the theory of usufructuary rights to provide suggestions for improvement.