The Latin American Opposition to Mandatory Arbitration in Tax Treaties Origins, the Calvo Doctrine, and a Reappraisal

Abstract

The international tax regime has recently made large strides toward a reform of its dispute resolution mechanism. Long-anticipated, mandatory tax treaty arbitration is finally gaining legitimacy beyond limited use by a few countries. Yet, the opposition to international arbitration among developing countries, led by Latin American countries, has not waned. This Article tracks this opposition to its origins and argues that it is misguided in the case of tax treaty arbitration, which such countries should rather generally support.