University of Georgia School of Law Professor Assaf Harpaz recently presented his draft article, “Tax Sovereignty,” at the Junior International Law Scholars Association (JILSA) Annual Meeting. The event was held at the William S. Richardson School of Law at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa on January 7.

Below is an abstract of the article:

Tax sovereignty is gaining significant attention in international tax policy. The concept traditionally refers to a government’s authority to design and enforce its own tax laws, without infringement. Policymakers are increasingly invoking the principle to broaden their country’s assertions of taxing rights (e.g., on offshore profits) and to withdraw from international agreements that they deem unfavorable. While tax sovereignty has been widely debated in legal scholarship, its parameters are not clearly established. These tensions have emerged in recent negotiations on issues like the global minimum tax and the legitimacy of tax havens, highlighting the need to better conceptualize the principle. This Article explores the origins of the tax sovereignty principle and its proliferation in the current international tax discourse. It develops a doctrinal account of tax sovereignty that illuminates the obligations and limitations embedded within the concept. The Article argues that tax sovereignty operates as a legally bounded doctrine rather than an unrestricted claim of fiscal autonomy, especially if a sovereign’s policies create negative externalities to others.

In addition to presenting his own work, Harpaz served as a commentator for the presentation “Is Rule of Law Decline Rewarded in Trade? Lessons from the European Union” by Janka Deli of Stanford Law School and was a panelist for a discussion titled “Preparing for a Career in Academia.”

Harpaz joined the University of Georgia School of Law as an assistant professor in summer 2024 and teaches classes in federal income tax and business taxation. Harpaz’s scholarly focus lies in international taxation, with an emphasis on the intersection of taxation and digitalization. He explores the tax challenges of the digital economy and the ways to adapt 20th-century tax laws to modern business practices.