This book explores the complex and ever-changing relationship between the European Union and its member states. The recent surge in tension in this relationship has been prompted by the actions of some member state governments as they question fundamental EU values and principles and refuse to implement common decisions seemingly on the basis of narrowly defined national interests. Furthermore, Brexit forces the EU for the first time to face the prospect of a major member state preparing to leave the Union. Are these developments heralding the return of the nation-state, and if so, in what form? Is the national revival a lasting phenomenon that will affect the EU for a long time to come, or is it a transitory trend? This book takes an interdisciplinary approach to answer these questions. It brings together scholars from economics, law, and political science to provide insights into the multifaceted relations between the Union and its member states from different perspectives. All chapters are based on up-to-date research findings, succinct assessments of the current state of affairs and ongoing debates about the direction of European integration. The book concludes by offering policy recommendations at European and national levels.

This book analyzes the issue of European fiscal State aid in order to provide insights into the related evolution prospects and legal problems. State aid has assumed a central position in the field of taxation, becoming the most important instrument of European legal integration, especially in the area of direct taxes. This is the result of major regulatory and interpretative development, which has altered the initial European and national balances in the face of globalization and the problems of the new economy. In this context, the scope and objectives of State aid have progressively broadened, encompassing a significant level of both positive and negative integration of European national tax systems.

The recent State Aid Modernization has decentralized the enforcement of State aid law. In particular, under the General Block Exemption Regulation a number of aid schemes do not require the preventive “check” by the European Commission, while national courts play a growing role in private enforcement of State aid law. This insightful book analyzes the enforcement of State aid law in the aftermath of the State Aid Modernization, identifying a number of emerging trends at the national and EU level.

Time to discuss anti-BEPS measures around digitalization In the course of the BEPS Report on Action 1, it was concluded that there was no instantaneous need for specific rules to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) made possible by the digitalization of enterprises and new digital businesses. At the same time, it was acknowledged that general measures may not suffice with the assessment of results to begin in 2020. While awaiting possible fundamental reforms of the tax framework, it is time to discuss anti-BEPS measures bearing in mind the peculiar features of the digital economy such as increased mobility, no need for physical presence, and dematerialization. The Book focuses on five key areas of interest:International Tax PolicyTax Treaty LawTransfer PricingIndirect Taxation IssuesEU Law“Taxation in a Global Digital Economy” analyses the issues and addresses the five key areas of interest from various viewpoints.

This book examines recent developments and high-profile debates that have arisen in the field of international tax law and European tax law. Topics such as international tax avoidance, corporate social responsibility, good governance in tax matters, harmful tax competition, state aid, tax treaty abuse and the financial transaction tax are considered. The OECD/G20 project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) features prominently in the book. The interaction with the European Union's Action Plan to strengthen the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion is also considered. Particular attention is paid to specific BEPS deliverables, exploring them through the prism of European Union law. Can the two approaches be aligned or are there inherent conflicts between them? The book also explores whether, when it comes to aggressive tax planning, there are internal conflicts between the established case law of the Court of Justice and the emerging policy of the European institutions. By so doing it offers a review of issues which are of constitutional importance to the European Union. Finally, the book reflects on the future of international and European tax law in the post-BEPS world.

This clear and concise textbook presents EU competition law in political, economic and comparative context. It combines excerpts from key EU rulings with discussions of enforcement policy issues and comparisons with US antitrust cases. Untangling the complex set of factors driving individual outcomes, it is the perfect companion for any student or practitioner in the field.

CJEU – The most important cases in the field of direct Taxation A great number of cases pending before the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) concern the fundamental freedoms and direct taxation. In particular, the number of infringement procedures brought before the CJEU by the European Commission has been increasing year on year. The CJEU is still in the driver’s seat in the area of direct taxation. All judgements and pending cases, therefore, have to be carefully analyzed by academics as well as practitioners. This book discusses the most important cases in the field of direct taxation pending before or recently decided by the CJEU. Moreover, the national background of these cases is discussed and possible infringements of the fundamental freedoms and secondary EU law are analyzed. The analyses are presented by esteemed national and European tax law experts. By examining the preliminary questions, the arguments brought forward by the parties and existing CJEU case law, the authors provide insight into the possible reasoning of the Court. Moreover, this book goes to the heart of the national tax systems, exposing hidden obstacles to the fundamental freedoms.

This collection offers a powerful and coherent study of the transformation of the multinational enterprise as both an object and subject of law within and beyond States. The study develops an analysis of the large firm as being a system of organization exercising vast powers through various instruments of private law, such as property rights, contracts and corporations. The volume focuses on the firm as the operational unit of governance within emerging systems of globalization, whilst exploring in-depth the forms within which the firm might be regulated as against the inhibiting parameters of national law. It connects, through the ordering concept of the firm in globalization, the distinct regimes of constitutionalization, national and international law. The study will be of interest to students and academics in globalization and the regulation of multinational corporations, as well as law, economics and politics on a global scale. It will also interest government leaders and NGOs working in the areas of MNE regulations.

Many companies that have become household names have avoided billions in taxes by 'parking' their valuable intellectual property (IP) assets in holding companies located in tax-favored jurisdictions. In the United States, for example, many domestic companies have moved their IP to tax-favored states such as Delaware or Nevada, while multinational companies have done the same by setting up foreign subsidiaries in Ireland, Singapore, Switzerland, and the Netherlands. In this illuminating work, tax scholar Jeffrey A. Maine teams up with IP expert Xuan-Thao Nguyen to explain how the use of these IP holding companies has become economically unjustified and socially unacceptable, and how numerous calls for change have been made. This book should be read by anyone interested in how corporations - including Gore-Tex, Victoria's Secret, Sherwin-Williams, Toys-R-Us, Apple, Microsoft, and Uber - have avoided tax liability with IP holding companies and how different constituencies are working to stop them.

The topics of double non-taxation and hybrid entities have acquired particular importance in a context where transformations in the tax world have led to international commitments materialised in the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. In what is the first systematic in-depth analysis of the OECD BEPS Action Plan 2 and hybrid entities, this timely book provides a critical review of the approach adopted by the OECD and proposes a deeply informed alternative method to deal with the problem of hybrid entity mismatches. The author analyses the interaction between the double non-taxation outcome and the use of hybrid entities in an approach not strictly linked to any specific tax jurisdiction. To this end, the analysis includes case studies and examples from a range of jurisdictions emphasising the international tax context, also including the application of tax treaties. Among the seminal matters covered in this edition are the following: foundations of the concepts of double non-taxation and hybrid entities; extensive analysis based on the rules of characterisation of foreign entities for tax purposes in the United States, Spain, Denmark, and Germany, as well as on the Poland/United States and Canada/United States tax treaties; in-depth analysis of the implications of Article 1(2) OECD Model Tax Convention and Article 3(1) Multilateral Instrument (MLI), especially considering the position of developing (source) countries; detailed analysis of the OECD BEPS Action 2 and its recommendations (linking rules), including its implementation in the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD); and elaborated alternative method to deal with hybrid entity mismatches (reactive coordination rule), which is informed by the tax policy aims of simplicity, coherence, and administrability. Detailed comparisons between the author’s proposal and other existing rules elucidate common points and deviations. If merely for its unparalleled clarification of the issues, this book will prove of immeasurable value to practitioners, tax authorities, policymakers and academics concerned with international tax law. Beyond that, as an authoritative guide that promises to reorient the discussion to what really matters in the debate regarding hybrid entity mismatches, this analysis elaborates solutions applicable to a generality of cases worldwide and, therefore, hugely promotes the urgent quest for alternative views.