Queen’s University Faculty of Law hosts a symposium today on Globalization and the Impact of Tax on International Investments:

National economies are increasingly tied together on a global and regional basis. In response to this process, governments throughout the world have reduced or eliminated controls on international investments and foreign exchange regulations. Over this same period, the proportion of international activities accounted for by large multinational firms has increased. Differences in national tax systems may be one of the few remaining barriers to cross-border investment flows. Bringing together leading counsel, academics and policymakers, the symposium sessions will aim to identify the ways that tax can inhibit or promote international investments, and to assess both government and private market responses to the challenges now and in the future.

Session #1:  Designing Tax Rules for International Investments

• Panel Chair: Daniel Thorton (Queen’s Business School)
• Speakers and Papers:
  • Tim Edgar (University of Western Ontario), Outbound Foreign Direct Investment and the Sourcing of Interest Expense for Deductibility Purposes
  • Andrew Halkyard (University of Hong Kong), Evaluating Chinese Tax Incentives for Foreign Investors: An Eassonian Perspective
  • Arthur J. Cockfield (Queen’s University), The Theory and Reality of Taxing Foreign Direct Investment: Contributions by Alex Easson
• Commentary: Brian Mustard (Dept. of Finance) & Mary Anne Bueschkens (Heenan Blaikie, LLP)

Session #2: The Impact of Globalization on the Taxation of International Investments

• Panel Chair: David Duff (University of Toronto)
• Speakers and Papers:
  • Jinyan Li (Osgoode Hall, York University), Revisiting Inter-nation Equity
  • Kathy Lahey (Queen’s University), International Taxation, Gender and Human Rights
  • Richard Cullen (University of Hong Kong), Globalization and the Hong Kong Revenue Regime
• Commentary:  Lori McMillan (Washburn University)

Session #3:  Tax Treaties and International Investments

• Panel Chair: David Kerzner (Law Offices of David S. Kerzner)
• Speakers and Papers:
  • Victor Thuronyi (International Monetary Fund), Tax Treaty Templates
  • Kimberley Brooks (McGill University), Using the Tax System to Promote Investment in Low-Income Countries: An Illustration of Good Intentions, Bad Results
  • Rick Krever (Monash University), Examining the Taxation Cross-border Capital Gains under the OECD Model Tax Treaty
• Commentary: Geoffrey Turner (Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP)

Session #4:  Taxing Cross-border Services and Service-Providers

• Panel Chair: Martha O’Brien (University of Victoria)
• Speakers and Papers:
  • Brian Arnold (Goodmans LLP, Harvard University), The New Service/Permanent Establishment Rule in the Canada-U.S. Tax Treaty
  • Catherine Brown (University of Calgary), Tax Barriers to Cross-Border Services
  • Walter Hellerstein (University of Georgia), Consumption Taxation of Cross-Border Trade in Services in an Age of Globalization
• Commentary: Evy Moskowitz (Evy Moskowitz, Moskowitz & Meredith, LLP)

The symposium is in honor of Alex Easson, who died on January 25, 2007. Professor Easson, a professor of law at Queen’s University since 1976, was renowned internationally as a leading expert in taxation and foreign investment. Symposium papers will be published within a book as a further honour for Professor Easson’s work in international tax.