New Options to Restrict Article 17 for Artistes and Sportsmen

Abstract

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has come to changes in the 2014 Commentary on Article 17 for artistes and sportsmen. It did not want to delete the article from the Model Tax Convention, although it used false reasoning to support this decision. In the mean time, major sports events (Olympics, World Cup Football) and states such as the Netherlands do not use the source taxation anymore, taking away the risk of excessive or even double taxation for artistes and sportsmen. But still the OECD has recognized that many artistes and sportsmen are having problems with the source taxation. In the 2014 Commentary it recommends some exceptions, such as an exemption for groups with employees, a minimum threshold, as in the US Model Tax Convention, and the deduction of expenses. In addition, some states also limit the scope of Article 17(2) to only abusive situations. At the end of the article, the author gives a revised Article 17 with all exceptions included.