Choosing between the UN and OECD Tax Policy Models: An African case study

Abstract

Almost all the world's tax treaties are based on precedents found in an OECD model tax convention or a UN model tax convention. Both model divide taxing rights on cross-border investment and business activities. The OECD model shifts taxing rights to capital exporting treaty partners while the UN treaty allows capital importing countries to retain more taxing rights. This paper examines the use of OECD and UN precedents in the tax treaties of a group of 11 East African countries. It is difficult to see a link between reduced taxation by the capital importing countries and increased foreign investment. While there are variations within the group, as a group the African countries may have conceded more taxing rights to capital exporting nations than counterparts in Asia.