Celebrating 10 years of Cooperation - IBFD visits University of Cape Town for a Week of Academic Lectures
In February, we organized an intensive week of academic lectures at the University of Cape Town, South Africa. This year, the visiting lecturers from IBFD were Pasquale Pistone, IBFD Academic Chairman, and Sergio Messina, Associate IBFD Academic Team.
Over the course of three days from the 10 - 12 February, we delivered an in-depth introduction on tax treaties to students. Our audience consisted of Master's students from the Master of Commerce and Master of Law programs specializing in International Taxation. Teaching a mixture of business and legal students at Cape Town University presented diverse opportunities and discussions, as the students approached the topic from different angles. This enriched the learning experience and encouraged a dynamic exchange of ideas.
The teaching week ended with a public conference jointly organized by IBFD and the University of Cape Town. The topic was UN tax developments, with a focus on the taxation of cross-border services. It started with a welcoming note by Professor Johann Hattingh, Professor at the UCT, who took the opportunity to highlight the main outcomes of the ten years of cooperation between IBFD and the University of Cape Town.
Following this, Sergio Messina delivered the opening presentation, which highlighted the key innovations introduced by the newly adopted Terms of Reference for a United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. He also addressed the provision in Article XX regarding “Fees for Services” for the upcoming 2025 UN MC update. Next, Pasquale Pistone expanded on the topic of Taxation of Income from Cross-Border Services, presenting proposals for a global normative and enforcement approach to legal Issues and policy options.
After the break, the UCT team, consisting of Alison Futter, Barry Ger, Johann Hattingh, and Afton Titus, engaged in an insightful discussion about the South African perspective on taxing income from cross-border services. Dr. Alison provided a detailed overview of the history surrounding the proposal for withholding tax on services in South Africa. Barry Ger followed with an in-depth analysis of the interplay between transfer pricing and withholding tax on services, framing it as an effective flat tax on gross margins. Lastly, Professor Hattingh explored viable alternatives to a flat-rate withholding tax on services, aiming to propose more practical solutions. Finally, Professor Titus wrapped up the conference by leading an engaging discussion with Sergio Messina on the latest developments from the UN regarding the Framework Convention. This conversation sparked significant interest and lively debate among the audience members present.
The conference concluded with a brief address by Professor Pistone and Professor Hattingh, who celebrated two major recent achievements. The first was the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Academic Cooperation Agreement between IBFD and the University of Cape Town. This was commemorated by sharing nostalgic photos from the early years of this partnership. The next was the publication of the proceedings from the inaugural Academic Tax Conference (ATC) titled "Blueprint for Individual Taxation Reform in a Globalized World", which featured contributions from several UCT academics.
We were proud to contribute to a successful week of academic activities in the esteemed University of Cape Town once again. A special thank you to all involved and to all those who have contributed to the success of this partnership over the past 10 years.
Find out more about our academic research and partnerships here.