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A taxpayer who gets caught under Part VII of the Mauritius Income Tax Act is subjected to a corrective measure only in the form of payment of the amount of tax that would have been due in the absence of the avoidance arrangement, but the consequences set out in the same section do not result in any disincentive to the taxpayer that would ensure the prevention of the occurrence of such type of anti-avoidance practices in the future. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of the anti-avoidance provisions in the Mauritius legislation as a weapon against impermissible tax avoidance, and the study also intends to critically analyse the remedies available against taxpayers who enter into impermissible tax avoidance transactions.

The methodology adopted for this qualitative study consists of a critical analysis and comparative legal review of the relevant legislation, case laws and literature. The anti-avoidance provisions of the Mauritius legislation will be compared with similar provisions of legislations of countries that have rigid preventive rules for anti-avoidance practices, and the selected countries are the UK and Australia because each country has been successful in diminishing the tax avoidances practices further to the imposition of penalties for impermissible tax avoidance. The black letter approach will also be used through which existing legal provisions, judicial doctrines, scholar articles and budget speeches governing anti-avoidance provisions for each country identified will be analysed.

Further to an analysis of the substantial differences between Mauritius anti-avoidance legal provisions and those of the UK and Australia, it is found that the backing of corrective actions by penalties act as a disincentive to prohibit impermissible anti-avoidance practices. The study concludes that, where there is abuse of law, the law needs to provide for penalties that must be suffered by the abuser, and hence, the study calls for an amendment in the Mauritius Income Tax Act to strengthen anti-avoidance provisions, by adopting similar provisions of the laws of Australia and the UK.

At present, there is no Mauritius literature on the researched topic, and this study will be one of the first academic writings on the subject of penalties for impermissible tax avoidance in Mauritius. The study is a new and unique topic in Mauritius, and for that reason, the study will largely rely on foreign sources that deal with penalties for impermissible tax avoidance, and this will include the Australian Taxation Administrative Act 1953, Australian case laws and the UK Finance Act 2016. This study is being carried out with the view to provide insightful recommendations to the stakeholders concerned in Mauritius to enhance the revenue collection avenues and methodologies for the Mauritius revenue authorities.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the Double Irish and Dutch Sandwich (DIDS) tax schemes used by international companies. Companies using these schemes are enabled to transfer a large amount of their profits to offshore tax havens by using wholly owned subsidiaries located in Ireland and the Netherlands. This paper also analyzes the US General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) to see whether it can effectively detect and counteract this scheme. This analysis is furthermore enhanced by applying the Mauritian GAAR through Section 90 of the Income Tax Act to the said schemes.

Concerning research methods, the library and the internet will be the main sources of information to be used for this paper. Through the usage of library research, the Mauritian Income Tax Act, US GAAR, European Commission decisions and scholar writings will further enhance this paper on the structure and preventive actions that can be taken against the DIDS scheme. This paper will also use a case study coupled with a theoretical analysis of current anti-avoidance rules.

The paper then concludes that it is possible to counteract the schemes using the Mauritian law but under specific circumstances. It is then revealed that there is a fundamental flaw in the current tax systems, which is the inability to regulate the intangible nature of resources and technology-based transactions.

To the author's knowledge, this paper is among the first literature on the subject of DIDS strategies conducted in the context of Mauritius.

The purpose of this paper is to examine the existence of income shifting using the practice of transfer pricing (TP), not only in sales but also in purchase and management service transactions, in Asian developing countries. The paper also investigates the role of the specific anti-avoidance rules (SAAR) in preventing TP practices in various types of transaction.

The research employs panel data from a sample of 200 subsidiaries in ten countries over the period 2010–2014.

Different results were obtained from previous research on developed countries, which found that TP practice was proven in sales transactions. This study finds no evidence for TP practices in sales transactions, but that they do take place in purchase, management service fee and management services revenue transactions. The study also finds evidence that SAAR reduces the practice of TP in sales transactions.

The research investigates TP practices, not only those related to sales, but also to purchases, management service fees and management service revenue to related parties. The sample comprises multinational subsidiaries located in Asian developing countries that have rarely been investigated in previous studies. This research examines the effect of SAAR in preventing TP practices in various types of transaction and develops scoring based on an instrument that integrates each SAAR rule/requirement.

While Mauritius is ranked as the fastest growing financial centre in Africa and the second-fastest-growing offshore financial centre (OFC) in the word by the New World Health in 2019, the country is facing severe allegations that it is progressing at the expense of other developing countries. In this respect, this paper aims to assess the contribution of the Mauritius OFC, the robustness of tax avoidance and evasion laws, the endeavours undertaken by the Mauritius Government to promote Mauritius OFC and the alleged classification of Mauritius as a tax haven.

To achieve the above research objectives, this paper will adopt the black letter approach. That is, the relevant legislation and case laws will be scrutinised. Also, books, journal articles, newspaper articles, reports from international bodies amongst others will be used. The research methodology also comprising a critical analysis which implies that existing studies conducted on the subject matter of this research will be assessed and the extent to which the researcher agrees with the existing work will be weighed.

Based on the critical analysis, this paper recommends that the Mauritius Income Tax Act be amended to provide for punitive and corrective actions for those engaged in impermissible tax avoidance. Additionally, for transparency and clarity, it is suggested that the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) clarifies in a practice note the factors that it considers when determining the tax liability that should have been payable or when detecting tax avoidance cases. Similarly, to discourage tax evasion, the fines and penalties for tax-evading offences should be more strict and a regulatory framework for tax practitioners need to be set up.

To the author’s knowledge, this paper is amongst the first academic research that emphasises the position of Mauritius as an OFC and critically analysed the related laws relating to the financial world.

Numerous policies are established in Mauritius to attract foreign direct investment, but at the same time, severe concerns were raised concerning the erosion of Mauritian tax base, which is witnessed by the decrease in the percentage of tax revenue to gross domestic product in recent years. To avoid these issues, in 2019, the Mauritian legislator has domesticated the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) BEPS 2013 Action 3 on controlled foreign company (CFC) in its income tax legislation. As such, the purpose of this study is to critically assess the implications of CFC rules of Mauritius to reduce tax avoidance in the light of international tax competition.

To achieve the research objective, this study will adopt a black letter approach by analysing the rules and regulations of various jurisdiction as well as international standards on CFCs and other tax avoidance legal provisions. A comparative analysis will be conducted between Mauritian laws on CFCs and the corresponding legislation of the UK and the USA, which are selected to assess the developed world’s position on strict CFC rules.

A hasty implementation of CFC rules leads to various complexities like interpretation issues and diminishing the competitiveness of the country to multinationals. In this respect, there is the risk of a trade-off between tax collected and foreign direct investment in the country. Consequently, the research recommends that Mauritius reforms its CFC legislation by extending the scope of tax exemptions for intra-group financing income, for the first year of CFC’s operation with the possibility of offsetting foreign taxes and for the Mauritius Revenue Authority to establish detailed guidelines on the determination of CFC income and its attribution for tax purposes in Mauritius.

Existing literature has to a great extent focused on the role of CFC rules as a tax avoidance measure and on the divergence or convergence between domestic CFC legislation against the OECD recommendations (Dourado, 2015; Xu, 2018; Beebeejaun et al., 2023). However, limited literature is available on the evaluation of the purpose of CFC rules enacted by a developing country being Mauritius in the context of the global competitive market, to which this research aims at filling the gap.

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the practical difficulties resulting from the UK Court of Appeal's recent guidance on the effect of anti‐avoidance provisions in the Landlord and Tenant (Covenants) Act 1995.

The paper analyses the Court's guidance, focusing on the inability of a guarantor to take a valid assignment of a lease from the outgoing tenant.

The paper identifies significant implications for due diligence, valuation and pricing of property investments, arguing that the result could be to deprive landlords of access to covenant strength that is crucial to its valuation or to any sale price.

The paper reflects practitioner discussions since the Court of Appeal gave its ruling in K/S Victoria Street v. House of Fraser. It highlights significant new issues that must be factored into property due diligence.

The purpose of this paper is the analysis of an anti‐abuse clause inserted in the Portuguese corporate income tax code (CITC) to deal with some forms of tax avoidance, and the degree of complexity that its practical application can induce for tax payers and tax authorities. The clause is related to “thin capitalization”, and aims at preventing that the financing arrangements between a parent company and its worldwide affiliates can be a source of tax minimization.

The economic and tax justification for such a clause is presented, and its evolution, in the wake of the European Court of Justice's rulings is discussed. Then, the paper analyses the wording of article 67 and concludes that it can be a source of many doubts for taxpayers, tax authorities and tax courts, when litigation follows from divergent views of firms and tax auditors. The reason for difficulties in the clause's application is the same that plagues many other areas of taxation: there is an established rule, followed by one, or several, exceptions. The paper exemplifies some hypothetical situations that can render the clause applications as quite complex and uncertain.

The degree of subjectivism of the exceptions established in article 67 can be a source of significant tax complexity. However, being true that numerical rules can be simpler to use, principles make the application of the law to specific situations fairer, by giving courts room for discretion in appreciating each case on its merits, and not being bonded by an explicit rule. The paper argues that a higher level of fairness is worth some degree of complexity.

When managers have to decide on financing plans, especially in multinational contexts, tax implications are at the forefront of relevant issues. Thin capitalization, when established in a way that postulates a rule, followed by exceptions, can render its actual impact in reported income quite ambiguous, given the judgments and technical complexities that can arise in the process.

The paper deals with practical complexities in applying the mentioned clause in the Portuguese CITC. It contributes to the literature by focusing on a micro interdisciplinary analysis – financial, accounting, legal and tax – of an anti‐avoidance mechanism inserted in many tax codes. As such, in every country that has a similar clause, it is at the interplay between law and management, given the potential impact of legal principles and rules in taxable income, corporate tax due, and rates of return.

Controlled foreign company (“CFC”) legislation, governed by section 9D of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, serves as anti‐avoidance legislation in South Africa’s residence‐based tax system. Section 9D provides for the calculation of a deemed amount which must be included in the South African resident’s income. This deemed amount is calculated with reference to the net income for the CFC’s foreign tax year. Section 9D(6) provides for this deemed amount, which is denominated in the foreign financial reporting currency, to be translated into South African rand by applying the average exchange rate for that year of assessment. The legislation refers to the South African resident’s year of assessment and not the CFC’s foreign tax year. It is submitted that the average exchange rate for the CFC’s foreign tax year should be used for translation. The author therefore disputes the period to be used in calculating the average exchange rate.

High‐taxing European treasuries face grave problems as they try to finance redistributive welfare states having low birth rates and declining labour tax bases in an age of globalising investment. Their problem is not much different to the problem faced by the Roman Emperors (though Constantine humanely disclaimed the previous use of the scourge and the rack and contented himself with incarceration of insolvent taxpayers). In those days wealth was buried as gold in the grounds of the villa; in our day it may be buried in overseas parent or subsidiary companies. The reality remains that capital and business income can be made less visible to the tax collector than landed property. The solution of the late Roman Empire was to visit corporal punishment on the taxpayer. The solution now being urged by the OECD in Paris is that small or developing countries with offshore financial centres be pressed into service as subsidiary tax enforcers to boost OECD coffers. The OECD approach is multifarious, involving the criminalisation of tax avoidance and the elimination of various forms of tax competition from these centres in all geographically mobile service industries, including financial, but also distribution services, shipping, service industries and company headquartering. The OECD initiative is already drafting similar action on competition in e‐commerce, with manufacturing industry having been flagged in the 1998 OECD report.

This article comprises an attempt to find a practical method of applying the decision in the case of the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service v Woulidge (63 SATC 483) (‘Woulidge’) to limit the application of section 7(3) of the Income Tax Act (‘the Act’). It is proposed in this article that Woulidge would also apply to the provisions of section 7(5) and paragraphs 69 and 70 of the Eighth Schedule to the Act. The approach proposed is illustrated by means of examples. The approach adopted by the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service is also discussed. A conclusion is drawn regarding the practicality of applying Woulidge in the light of the examples.