TAX INFORMATION EXCHANGE AGREEMENTS (TIEAS)

Abstract

The Model Agreement on Exchange of Information on Tax Matters (TIEA Model) and its Commentary (TIEA Model Commentary) were published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2002. Today, the OECD standard is also reflected in Article 26 OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital (OECD Model) and its Commentary (OECD Model Commentary) as well as incorporated in the United Nations Model Tax Convention (UN Model), the Council of Europe/OECD Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (the CoE/OECD Convention) and European Union (EU) law. The TIEA Model contains specific provisions regarding exchange of information on request, the possibility of declining a request for information, tax examinations abroad, and a confidentiality clause. In addition, it includes provisions of an administrative nature such as allocation of costs associated with the execution of TIEAs and language usage for making and responding to requests. This contribution gives an overview of the main provisions of the TIEA Model with the focus on its content, the specificity of the information request and the application of TIEAs in practice.