Both countries taxed the same profit. Which one do I argue with?
Neither, on its own, if the reason for the double tax is that they disagree with each other. A domestic objection asks one authority to change its mind about its own assessment, and where each is applying its own law defensibly there is nothing for it to change. The treaty route is different. The request goes to the competent authority of the country in which you are resident, within the time limit the treaty sets, and the two authorities then negotiate the position between themselves. It is a government-to-government procedure, and what gets resolved is their disagreement rather than your objection.
Can I make a request after my domestic appeal deadline has passed?
Often, yes, and this surprises people. The treaty procedure carries its own time limit, which is not the domestic one, so a competent authority request can be available even where domestic appeal rights have run out. That is not a reason to let an objection lapse, because the domestic route is usually quicker and cheaper where it can work at all. But a closed appeal window is not automatically the end of a double-tax problem. The first thing to establish is where the treaty's own limit stands for the year in question, because everything else follows from that.
What exactly is a MAP request and who do I send it to?
It is a request that the competent authority of your country of residence take a double-taxation problem up with its counterpart in the other country. It goes to that authority, not to the assessing office that raised the adjustment, and it has to be made within the time limit the relevant treaty sets. What follows is a negotiation between the two administrations about how the income or the profit should be divided between them. Your part is the record: what each country has assessed, on what basis, and why the two positions cannot both be right.
Can a one-sided transfer pricing adjustment be corrected under a treaty?
That is the classic case for this procedure. Where one administration increases the profit taxable in its jurisdiction and the other declines to reduce the profit it has already taxed on the same transaction, the same margin is taxed twice and no domestic remedy reaches both sides of it. The treaty route is built for exactly that. The request goes to the competent authority of the country of residence, within the treaty's time limit, and the two then negotiate the allocation. The work on your side is evidential: the transaction, the functions behind it, and what each country has actually assessed.
Two countries both treat me as resident. Can the treaty settle it?
A contested residence determination is one of the standard subjects for a competent authority request, and it is made to the authority in the country you say you are resident in, within the treaty's own time limit. Until the question is settled, both countries continue to assess on their own view, so the practical sequence matters as much as the request. The filings still have to be made and the position documented consistently in both places while the two authorities work out which of them is right, because inconsistent filings become evidence against you.
Is a competent authority request worth starting or should I just pay?
It depends on what is actually in dispute. Where two countries are taxing the same profit and each is applying its own law defensibly, paying twice is the alternative, and the treaty procedure is the only route that reaches both assessments at once. Where the problem is a mistake inside one country's own assessment, a domestic objection is quicker and the treaty route is the wrong tool. We look at three things before advising: what each country has assessed, whether the treaty's own time limit is still open, and whether the record supports one allocation over the other.
Is the sale of foreign property taxable where I live?
For a resident, yes — worldwide gains are taxable, and the gain is computed in your own currency, so the exchange rate at purchase and at sale changes the number even when the local-currency price did not move. The country where the property sits usually taxes it too, often with a withholding or clearance step before closing, and that tax becomes a credit. A principal residence relief may apply to a home abroad on the same terms as one at home. See principal residence and foreign property.
Do I have to file in both countries?
Frequently yes, and the two filings do different jobs. The country where the income arises taxes it at source; the country where you are resident taxes your worldwide income and then gives credit for the tax already paid. Filing only one side is what leaves relief unclaimed — the credit has to be asked for on a return. We prepare both sides so the numbers agree. See dual filing.
