Robert Danon
Robert Danon is a Full Professor of Swiss and international tax law at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) where he heads its Tax Policy Center.
At the national level, his research interests and publications cover all areas of Swiss tax law as well as administrative and constitutional law.
From an international standpoint, his academic research focuses on tax treaty law (including its relation with international investment law), comparative taxation, transfer pricing as well as public international law. His most scholarly contributions have in particular dealt with tax treaty interpretation, treaty abuse, the notion and the attribution of profits to permanent establishments, the taxation of the digital economy, transfer pricing issues, non-discrimination, administrative assistance and, more fundamentally, the implementation of OECD/G20 BEPS initiative around the globe.
He is regularly called to give evidence as a testifying expert in the framework of mutual agreement and arbitration proceedings, including those involving non-tax agreements such as Bilateral Investment Treaties (BITs) or the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT).
Since 2017, Robert Danon serves as the Chairman of the Permanent Scientific Committee (PSC) of the International Fiscal Association (IFA). IFA, which was established in 1938 and which comprises today nearly 13'000 members in 115 countries, is the largest non-governmental, non-sectoral and neutral international organization dealing with fiscal matters.
He has also been involved in several tax reforms. For instance, in 2015, he was requested by Switzerland's finance minister to analyze the entire constitutionality of its corporate tax reform designed to comply with the OECD/G20 and EU standards. Moreover, he is regularly invited by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ("OECD") to express his views on matters of international tax law and policy.
Robert Danon holds a degree in law from the University of Geneva, an LL.M. in International Taxation from the University of Leiden and a PhD in Tax Law (« doctorat en droit summa cum laude ») dealing with « Switzerland's taxation of private express trusts. With particular references to US, Canadian and New Zealand taxation ».