MUTUAL AGREEMENT PROCEDURE, DOUBLE TAXATION TREATIES AND PROTECTION OF TAXPAYERS’ RIGHTS IN THE BRICS COUNTRIES

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Belal Hassan Al-Rawashdeh

Abstract

Taxpayers’ rights are of utmost importance in the context of the fundamental changes in the regulation
of international tax relations determined by the necessity to combat tax avoidance at the global level.
Consequently, contemporary states should provide high level of efficiency of dispute resolution mechanisms
between taxpayers and tax authorities of different states including mutual agreement procedure (MAP) that
is the procedural mechanism allowing taxpayers to resolve theirs cases of taxation not in accordance with
the provisions of double taxation treaties by the way of initiation of the direct communication between the
competent authorities of contracting states. Based on the analysis of pros and cons of MAP, it might be stated
that its attractiveness is not so obvious for taxpayers in the absence of certain guarantees such as the right to
confidentiality or the right to be informed about the process of negotiation between competent authorities.
The success of international community is only partial in this context because of the difficulty to find common
denominator and the difference of interests at the global level. At the same time, the example of the EU
demonstrates the crucial importance of the regional cooperation for the improvement of taxpayers’ rights in
the context of MAP that might be taken into account by the BRICS countries in their attempts to improve tax
dispute resolution mechanisms.

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