Os conflitos tributários internacionais e sua possível solução pela via arbitral

Abstract

The phenomenon of globalization had the power to bring together different peoples, each with their own interests and cultures. However, in view of the cultural diversity of different peoples around the world, the existence of an international consensus in establishing the principles to be followed when external relations are formed cannot prevent the emergence of external conflicts and disagreements. This led the international society to develop mechanisms that could peacefully settle the controversies that may eventually arise. The adoption of such mechanisms is encouraged by the Brazilian Constitution, whose article 4, sections VI and VII, advocates the pursuit of peace and peaceful settlement of disputes. Its use does not lead to the renunciation of the exercise of sovereignty nor to the immunity of jurisdiction. Meanwhile, in order to achieve greater efficacy in the submission of disputes arising outside of the means allowed to solve them, it is important that countries involved in the disputes have consolidated internal orientation towards favouring international law over their domestic infra-constitutional legislation. The primacy of the domestic law may result in the ineffectiveness of adopting peaceful means for solving international controversies since authorities of the countries engaged in the dispute may avoid compliance with the agreement or decision on the grounds of some contradiction with the domestic law procedures. In this context, the taxation arena has been constantly attracting international disagreement. The different interpretations conferred by various nations, including Brazil, in applying taxation-related treaties signed by themselves, particularly those attempting to avoid double income taxation or to guarantee the free flow of goods, people and services, bring a high level of insecurity to investors possessing operations connected to two or more distinct tax systems. As a result, the debates regarding the extension of the peaceful mechanisms to the solution of divergences take shape, including those related to the application of any treaty which speaks to the subject of taxation. This favors the search for the standardization of the hermeneutical methods applicable to those tax events which are linked to two or more sovereign entities. This is the context surrounding the current study, which addresses the possibility of the Federative Republic of Brazil to refer tax-related disputes, caused by divergent interpretation of the international conventions of which it is a member, to the arbitral proceedings.