Tax treaty override in Slovakia - Digital platform permanent establishment

Abstract

The article analyses the new “digital platform permanent establishment” concept as a legal fiction establishing a fixed place even in situations where there is no actual fixed place. The authors conclude that in the Slovak legal environment this concept is not capable of (i) being applied through the interpretation of the tax treaty, or (ii) overriding the tax treaty. Its practical implications in a tax treaty situation must be analysed on a case-by-case basis. The ineffectiveness of the concept mainly stems from the fact that Slovak statutory rules are generally incapable of overriding tax treaties. It may still be applicable in a dualist legal environment, but international law treaty override implications would still remain valid.

Keywords

• corporate income tax
• treaty override
• permanent establishment
• digital services
• digital platform