2008 was a significant year for scholars interested in the history of tax treaties. Apart from the Rust tax treaties history conference, the main event was the release of the OECD archives in September when the OECD celebrated the 50th anniversary of the OECD Model (or more accurately the...

This paper consider the history of the tax treaty rule on royalties up to the emergence of the modern form, the borders of the provision and the fundamental question of why we have it (viewed from an historical perspective). In the modern context of the OECD Model with zero taxation at source on...