How does EU law affect Member State corporate tax systems and the cross-border activities of companies? This unique study traces the historical development of EU corporate tax law and provides an in-depth analysis of a number of issues affecting companies, groups of companies and permanent establishments. Existing legislation, soft-law and the case-law of the Court of Justice are examined. The proposed CCCTB Directive and its potential application through enhanced co-operation are also considered. In addition to the tax issues pertaining to direct investment, the author examines the taxation of passive investment income, corporate reorganisations, exit taxes and the restrictive effect of domestic anti-abuse regimes. By doing so, the convergences and divergences arising from the interplay of EU corporate tax law and international tax law, especially the OECD model, are uncovered and highlighted.

"This report offers a positive assessment of the basic compatibility of IFRS and tax principles. It also provides constructive information and guidance to the European Commission to identify the elements of member states' tax systems that must be considered to achieve convergence to a CCCTB from the starting point of IFRS. The Task Force also emphasises, however, that a common corporate tax base among member states is not enough. Any CCCTB should be compatible with the EU's Lisbon objectives. And to meet those objectives, there needs to be a single common tax base with consolidation and allocation, in a form that is competitive, efficient and flexible."--BOOK JACKET.

Through the arguments for corporate tax harmonization in the EU and describing the current stage of this process, the legislative rules which are insufficient to solve the many problems implied by the proper functioning of the Single Market, are revealed. The book also exposes the issues involved in the consolidation of the corporate tax base.

Following each Member State's need to rebuild a strong and stable economy after the 2007 financial crisis, the European Union (EU) has developed a robust new transparency framework with binding anti-abuse measures and stronger instruments to challenge external threats of base erosion. This is the first and only book to provide a complete detailed analysis of the Anti-Tax Avoidance Package and other recent and ongoing European actions taken in direct taxation. With contributions from both prominent tax academics and Spain's delegates to the European meetings where these rules are debated and promulgated, the book covers such issues and topics as the following: – the development of the EU Strategy towards Aggressive Tax Planning; – recent tax-related jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice; – the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive; – tax treaties and non-tax treaties with tax consequences both between Member States and between Member States and third countries; – code of conduct for business taxation; – automatic exchange of information; – country-by-country reporting; – arbitration in tax matters; – external strategy for effective taxation regarding non-EU countries; – competition and state aid developments in direct taxation; – the Common Consolidated Tax Base; and – digital significant presence and permanent establishment. As the EU pursues its ambitious tax agenda, taxation's contribution to EU growth and competitiveness and its part in relations with the rest of the world will come into ever clearer focus. In addition to its insights into these trends, the book's unparalleled practical information and analysis will be of great value to tax practitioners dealing with investment analysis, tax planning schemes, and other features of the current international tax landscape.

Some introductory remarks on the relaunched CCTB/CCCTB proposals from a policy perspective / Jan van de Streek -- Principles and characteristics of CCTB after the relaunch / Ronald Russo -- Depreciation rules and roll-over relief under the proposed CCTB directive / Hein Vermeulen -- Allowance for growth and investment / Stefano Grilli -- The R&D tax incentives / Paolo Arginelli -- The participation exemption / Marjaana Helminen -- Cross-border loss relief under the proposed CCTB directive / Bruno da Silva -- The arm's length standard : a blind spot in the CC(C)TB proposals / Daniel S. Smit -- Exit tax / Rita Szudoczky -- Tax avoidance and the return of CC(C)TB / Frans Vanistendael -- Interest limiation rule / Ruben Martini -- The switch-over clause / Daniel Gutmann -- The controlled foreign company regime / Werner Haslehner -- The GAAR / Markus Seiler -- Consolidation within the CCCTB / Fabian Munsterman -- Tax competition within the European Union revisited : is the relaunched CCCTB a solution? / Maarten F. de Wilde -- Procedural and administrative aspects of the CCCTB / Sjoerd Douma.

Preface This book contains the proceedings of the International Tax Conference on the c- th th mon consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) that was held in Berlin on 15 – 16 may 2007. The conference was jointly organised by the German Federal Ministry of Finance, the Centre for European Economic Research (ZEW), Mannheim, and the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law, Munich. More than 250 participants from all over Europe and other regions, scholars, politicians, business people and tax administrators, discussed the Eu- pean Commission’s proposal to establish a CCCTB. Three panels of tax experts evaluated the common tax base with respect to structural elements, consolidation, allocation, international aspects and administration. The conference made clear that the CCCTB has the potential to overcome some of the most intriguing problems of corporate income taxation within the Common Market. Common tax accounting rules substantially reduce compliance and administrative costs. Consolidation of a group’s profits and losses effects cro- border loss compensation which removes a major tax obstacle for European cro- border investment. At the same time, tax planning with respect to financing and transfer pricing is pushed back within the European Union. Moreover, as far as the CCCTB applies, member states are able to remove tax provisions that are targeted at cross border tax evasion and that might be challenged by the jurisdiction of the Eu- pean Court of Justice.

Despite the conclusion of tax treaties and despite the enactment of several directives, double taxation continues to occur within the EU, causing severe obstacles for cross-border trade, for the provision of services and capital, and for the free movement of persons. This book collects the expert analysis and recommendations on the following issues: the reasons for the existence (and persistence) of juridical and economic double taxation; double burdens in criminal law; constitutional limits for double taxation; the Lisbon Treaty's abolition of Article 293 EC, which had required Member States to conclude tax treaties in order to abolish double taxation; whether double taxation can be avoided by the application of the four freedoms; prospects for an EU-wide multilateral tax treaty; the proposed Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base; and use of arbitration clauses in tax treaties.

Tax competition in the form of harmful tax practices can distort trade and investment patterns, erode national tax bases and shift part of the tax burden onto less mobile tax bases. The Report emphasises that governments must intensify their cooperative actions to curb harmful tax practices.

This book provides a detailed assessment of current approaches to transfer pricing in the context of small- and middle-sized enterprises (SMEs), including the newest update of Transfer Pricing Guidelines from 10 July 2017. It analyzes the transfer pricing rules for SMEs across the European Union (EU) and explores two alternative approaches as suitable solutions for current transfer pricing issues. The authors evaluate and discuss alternative approaches like Safe Harbour and Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB). Taking into account the prominent role of SMEs in the European Union’s economy, the book also puts forward policy recommendations to achieve the long-term goals of the EU’s 2020 agenda.