Applying Modern, Disruptive Technologies to Improve the Effectiveness of Tax Treaty Dispute Resolution: Part 1

This comprehensive two-part article addresses how modern, disruptive technologies can be used to improve the effectiveness of tax treaty dispute resolution. It is clear that international tax dispute resolution needs improvement. The OECD, the European Union and the United Nations have all recently taken measures to this effect by promoting the prevention and timely resolution of treaty-related disputes. However, none of these recommendations considers technology. In this context, this article examines whether the emergence of new and disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, shared-data platforms, cloud-based solutions and blockchain could complement the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) and supplementary arbitration and render them more effective by speeding up the resolution, reducing costs and establishing trust between tax administrations and taxpayers. To answer this question, in Part 1 of this article, the authors briefly analyse the main drawbacks of the existing tax treaty dispute resolution process from the perspective of various stakeholders. Next, the article focuses on the fundamental features of a few significant types of technology and analyses how they could improve this process. In Part 2 of this article, the authors will use the analysis from Part 1 to make some specific suggestions as to how the technologies discussed can be used to improve the MAP and supplementary solutions, with an aim to encourage the above-mentioned policy organizations to consider the potential of disruptive technologies in their work.