The New Global Politics of Sovereign International Tax: Space, Time, and Why BEPS is Not the Final Frontier

Abstract

International tax is undergoing an epochal shift, reminiscent of the genesis of the current bilateral state-centric network of diplomatic agreements in the 1920s. The paradigm of Westphalian tax sovereignty is being assailed by efficient corporate tax planning, resulting in considerable profit shifting and base stripping by multinational enterprise. The supply side of policy is engaged in a race to the bottom competition, and the demand side benefits from treaty shopping and elective residence. Tax is at the heart of the social contract, and the welfare state is having an existential moment. Current efforts coordinated through the G-20 and OECD are likely to produce mock compliance or outright failure. Observing the comparative experience of financial regulation through the Basel Accords employing the constructivist ontology of international relations, this paper argues for constitutional anti-majoritarian paternalism in national tax administrations, together with global tax governance supported and implemented by a transnational epistemic community insulated from democratic interference. Indeed, the problem of space and time occasioned by the current era of globalization portend significant policy coordination problems and distributive contests. In light of the application of globalization theory to a futurist frame, however, it is clear BEPS is not the final frontier for the imagination of sovereign tax.