Danon is an independent firm with a predominant emphasis on tax law. The firm’s practice focuses on expert opinions, international arbitration and disputes involving complex cross-border tax issues.
The firm was founded by Robert Danon, a Professor of Swiss and international tax law at the University of Lausanne (Switzerland) where he heads its Tax Policy Center.
He is the author and editor of numerous leading publications in tax law and is a member of various academic and professional tax organizations and committees.
In particular, he serves as the Chairman of the Permanent Scientific Committee (PSC) of the International Fiscal Association. He is also a co-founder and a member of The Arbitration & Tax Disputes Network an independent network consisting of eminent professors of tax law providing independent expert assistance in all areas of international and European tax law, notably in the framework of arbitration and litigation proceedings.
Robert Danon is regarded as a leading Swiss and international tax expert. At the national level, his expertise ranges for instance from corporate taxation to succession, estate and trust taxation and extends to administrative and constitutional law. From an international standpoint, he is an expert in tax treaty law (including its relation with international investment law), comparative taxation, transfer pricing as well as public international law. His most recent expert opinions and scholarly articles have in particular dealt with complex cross-border matters involving, among other things, 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 or the interpretation of tax treaties.
Professor Danon regularly acts as a consultant or a testifying expert before courts or in mutual agreement and arbitration proceedings, including arbitrations involving bilateral investment treaties (BITs) and commercial arbitrations.
Robert Danon assists governments, multinational enterprises and their boards ("tax in the boardroom") on reforms and corporate tax governance issues associated thereto. 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.
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. He has in particular done so in in (i) 2011 (interpretation of the tax treaty “beneficial ownership” limitation applying to dividends, interest and royalties), (ii) 2014 (international tax treatment of hybrid entities), (iii) 2017 (attribution of profits to permanent establishments) and (iv) 2017-2019 (the tax challenges raised by digitalization).
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 ».
