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IBFD Tax Research Platform for International Tax Research

November 07, 2012

The IBFD Tax Research Platform is a key resource for researching international tax law. Containing extensive analyses of international tax treaties and national tax legislation and case law for 136 countries, IBFD also incorporates helpful tools for comparing the tax law of multiple jurisdictions and calculating applicable tax rates for cross-border transactions.   IBFD Tax Research Platform also offers access to tax journals and news sources, e-books, and model tax conventions.

Tax information for each country is offered at multiple levels of detail. Country Key Features and Country Surveys allow the researcher to quickly get an overview of a country’s tax system, while the Country Analysis view provides comprehensive descriptions of the corporate and individual tax provisions for a given country. Topical Analyses offer in-depth coverage of major topics in international tax, including country-by-country analyses of the relevant laws.

Locating information in the IBFD Tax Research Platform is straightforward:

IBFD Interface.jpg

The title frame (1) contains the relevant buttons for navigating through the various sections of the database and accessing the tools for comparing jurisdictions and calculating tax rates.

The left-hand frame (2) contains the drop-down menus for selecting your country, organization or topic of interest, and also allows full-text searching across IBFD’s resources.

The middle frame (3) allows you to browse through all of IBFD’s content, and also contains the search results screen and shows you the document you have selected.

Under the Tools tab, you will find the tools for comparing the tax laws of multiple countries at once, as well as tables comparing tax rates, tax penalties, transfer pricing, and other important tax practices across jurisdictions. It is also possible to compare tax treaty terms side-by-side.

Thumbnail image for IBFD Print and Save.jpgOnce you have found the information you are looking for, you can print it, save it in PDF or Excel format, or extract a citation by using the Print, Save and Cite buttons at the bottom of the screen.

This database, as well as other resources for international tax research, is accessible through Biddle Law Library’s E-Resources page. For assistance in accessing and using IBFD Tax Research Platform, or for help planning and conducting research into international tax law, email Gabriela Femenia, Foreign and International Law Librarian, at gfemenia@law.upenn.edu, or stop by Tanenbaum 412.