References to an international tax system are not uncommon. Some references qualify the international tax system by making it specific to a particular juris-diction, such as the U.S. international tax system. Other references are without qualification and appear to refer to an international tax system that is applicable to states in general. The question as to whether an international tax system that is generally applicable to states exists has been the subject of debate among many academics. The debate assumed new dimensions when its proponents claimed that the system is founded upon both treaty-based and customary inter-national law. In this regard, it is argued that the norms of customary international law—the single tax principle and the benefits principle—form the foundation of the international tax system. This Article seeks to delineate the boundaries of the international tax system within public international law by weighing some of the norms and rules described as underlying the international tax system against sources of public international law.

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