Escuela de Derecho

The purpose of this seminar is to explore Double Tax Treaties´ (DTT) interpretation and practice in Latin America. The conventions in force continue to grow in importance as more countries enter into bilateral treaties, in particular non-OECD countries. Latin America has not escaped this trend; however the pace is slower than in other regions of the world. Even the treaty network of an OECD member such as Mexico has been quite modest as compared with other OECD members and relevant non members. DTT are interpreted and applied by domestic courts, without an international court or authority granting a uniform and consistent interpretation. This would afford local authorities the ability to construe treaty provisions with a local perspective even if the text is a literal transcription of the OECD MC. Finally, Latin American countries have a long tradition of exclusive source taxation, which creates some tension with the principles underpinning the OECD MC, explains the preference for UN MC´s provisions, and has resulted in the drafting of an unsuccessful LA MC (the Andean Pact Model). By reviewing case law, the course will seek to identify to what extent application of the treaties in the region differs from international practice (evidenced by the Commentary to the OECD MC), and whether it is possible to view the region as a conceptual unity for this purpose. The analysis will start with a review of the text of various treaties in force to identify significant deviations from the OECD MC.