Tax treaties and COVID-19
On January 21, 2021, the OECD issued updated guidance on tax treaties and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, revisiting its April 2020 guidance note. Even though more than nine months have elapsed since then, COVID-19-related measures such as travel restrictions and curtailment of business operations are still very much in place and they seem to be here to stay for at least the medium- term. To this end, the OECD felt that it should provide additional insight on three main concerns: Concerns related to the creation of a Permanent Establishment (PE) As a result of the travel restrictions imposed due to the pandemic, many employees have been restricted to carry out their work from their homes, sometimes in a different jurisdiction other than that in which they usually work. Concerns have been raised among employers as to whether this would result in the creation of a PE, which would in turn result in their businesses having to adhere to increased tax obligations and tax filing requirements. The OECD states that since such employees are working from home because of measures imposed or recommended by the public health authorities of at least one of the jurisdictions involved and...