Task Technology v FCT [2014] FCAFC 113
This case, which is about software royalties under the Canadian double tax agreement, makes 4 key points – (1) take a ‘holistic’ approach to DTA interpretation2; (2) give primacy to the written text; (3) context, object and purpose ‘must also be considered’3; and (4) the OECD commentary and related materials should always be consulted4.
In short, we should interpret DTAs a bit more liberally than domestic tax legislation5. iTip – a good place to start in determining the domestic effect of a DTA is to understand the deeper trans-national principles on which it is based.
This case is from Episode 3 of interpretationNOW!
Footnotes:
2 Applicant A (1997) 190 CLR 225 (at 231), TR 2001/13 (at [92]).
3 Arts 31 & 32 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties [1974] ATS 2.
4 Thiel [1990] HCA 37 (at [9]), Resource Capital [2014] FCAFC 37 (at [25]).
5 Morrison [2002] HCA 44 (at [16]), Li v Zhou [2014] NSWCA 176 (at [24-25]).