Business Income Taxation of Foreign Owned Construction Entities in Ethiopia: Gaps in the International Tax Laws of Ethiopia and their Enforcement in Practice
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Date
2017-02
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Addis Ababa University
Abstract
The taxation of income in a certain country possesses an international character when either the
income subject to tax is derived from a foreign source or the person subject to income tax is a
non-resident. The growing presence of multinational enterprises in different countries through
their subsidiaries also brings up issues of international taxation. Such internationalization
broadens the dimension of income taxation in significant ways making the concept of
international taxation complex and subjecting it to profound study worldwide. It however has not
received the attention it deserves in Ethiopian legal education and rather seemed ignored for so
long by Ethiopian tax legislations and the tax administration.
This history however needs to change instantly for the better if Ethiopia is ever going to fulfill its
growing need to attract foreign investment and build a modern and efficient tax administration
capable of raising the revenues generated by the economy and preventing and fighting
international tax avoidance. The recent introduction of the new Federal Income Tax
Proclamation incorporating relatively extensive provisions on international taxation can be seen
as one important leap in this regard.
To do its own humble part, this research paper attempts to bring the concept of international
taxation to the spotlight by focusing on the issue of business income taxation of foreign owned
construction companies in Ethiopia. It first depicts the global understanding of the important
concepts present in international taxation and then reviews the rules of Ethiopia governing the
matter together with their practical application on the ground. Since most foreign owned
construction companies engage in various activities both in Ethiopia and other countries, the
research specially focuses on issues surrounding the attribution of income from their activities
occurring in different jurisdictions and the allocation of expenses to their Ethiopian businesses.
In so doing, the research shows the important areas where the Ethiopian international taxation
rules and the practical determination of the taxable income of foreign owned construction
companies fall short of. It then concludes that the gaps existing in the rules and the practice are
too significant to be ignored and could lead to failure in realizing Ethiopian tax policy
objectives. The research finally recommends some key solutions in order to fill the gaps already
identified.