Twice as nice: two works by Craig Elliffe among world’s best

Professor Craig Elliffe has been making waves in the field of international taxation with insightful and innovative research on the complexities of cross-border taxation. And now, his work is again being recognised on a global stage.

Two of Elliffe's academic papers, ‘The Brave (and Uncertain) New World of International Taxation under the 2020s Compromise’ and ‘Preventing Unacceptable Tax Treaty Overrides,’ are nominated for the prestigious 9th Frans Vanistendael Award for International Tax Law.

Out of hundreds of entries from around the world, Elliffe is the only finalist to have two papers shortlisted. His two works, which tackle some of the most pressing issues facing international taxation today, are up against just four others.

Being shortlisted is a massive achievement, and the award, named after Frans Vanistendael, one of the most influential scholars in the field, will go to the author the jury deems to have written the most outstanding publication on international tax law published in English in 2022.

In ‘The Brave (and Uncertain) New World of International Taxation under the 2020s Compromise’, Elliffe examines the impact of the OECD's base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project on international tax law. He argues that while the BEPS project was a step in the right direction, it also created great uncertainty and complexity in the international tax landscape.

Elliffe's other paper, ‘Preventing Unacceptable Tax Treaty Overrides’, focuses on the relationship between tax treaties and domestic law. In it, he argues that countries need to adopt a more coordinated approach to tax policy to prevent unacceptable tax treaty overrides.

Both papers are timely and relevant, given the ongoing debates around international taxation and the need for greater cooperation between countries, and Elliffe, who has been shortlisted twice before, is understandably delighted that his work is being recognised.

"I'm really excited about it but I’m trying not to think about the outcome too much. You can spend half your life doing something and never know whether it's any good or not so this kind of recognition is amazing, and by being shortlisted for this award for the third time, I feel like I'm showing some consistency!"

The Frans Vanistendael Award winner will be announced in May, but regardless of the outcome, Elliffe's nomination is a major achievement. It highlights the important work he's doing in the field of international taxation and underscores the value of his research to the broader tax community.

More recently, Elliffe was awarded a University of Auckland 2022 Research Excellence Medal for his work identifying significant challenges in the international tax system and exploring how they might be remedied through multilateral international tax reform from New Zealand and a global perspective.

Supported by the International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation, the world’s largest specialist tax publisher, the Frans Vanistendael Award comes with a €10,000 prize. A nine-member international panel will pick the winning paper in May.