Cover

European Union Corporate Tax Law

Series

Title

Copyright

Dedication

Contents

Foreword by Malcolm Gammie QC

Foreword by Professor Michael Lang

Preface

Introduction

1 The historical background to EU corporate tax law

1.1 Introduction

1.2 The historical background

1.2.1 The Neumark Report

1.2.2 The Segrè Report

1.2.3 The Program for the Harmonisation of Direct Taxation

1.2.4 The Van den Tempel Report

1.2.5 The Commission’s 1975 proposal and its aftermath

1.2.6 The Ruding Report

1.3 Recent developments

1.3.1 Harmful tax competition and the tax package

1.3.2 The 2001 Company Tax Study

1.3.3 The aftermath to the 2001 Company Tax Study

1.3.4 Good governance in tax matters

1.4 The future of EU corporate tax law

2 EU corporate tax legislation

2.1 The Parent–Subsidiary Directive

2.1.1 Profit distribution

2.1.2 Eligibility requirements

2.1.3 Taxing the profit distribution

2.1.4 What is a withholding tax?

2.2 The Merger Directive

2.3 The Interest and Royalties Directive

2.3.1 Eligible companies, permanent establishments and beneficial ownership

2.3.2 Interest, royalties and excluded payments

2.3.3 The taxation of the payer/debtor

2.3.4 Reform of the Interest and Royalties Directive

2.4 The Savings Directive

2.5 The Arbitration Convention

2.6 The Code of Conduct on Business Taxation

2.7 The Mutual Assistance Directives

2.8 The Draft Directive for Cross-Border Loss Relief

3 The Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base

3.1 Introduction – unanimity or enhanced cooperation?

3.2 Key features of the Draft CCCTB Directive

3.2.1 Eligibility and membership tests

3.2.2 Optionality: coexistence of domestic regimes and the CCCTB

3.2.3 The new tax base

3.2.4 Consolidation and other benefits

3.2.5 The administration of the CCCTB

3.3 Taxation of inbound and outbound payments

3.3.1 Inbound payments

3.3.2 Outbound payments

3.4 Anti-abuse rules

3.4.1 The GAAR

3.4.2 Controlled foreign companies

3.4.3 Thin capitalisation

3.5 Formulary apportionment

3.6 The future of the CCCTB

4 The Court of Justice and the development of EU corporate tax law

4.1 Tax litigation in the Court of Justice

4.2 Fundamental freedoms, state aid and direct taxation

4.2.1 Free movement of goods

4.2.2 Free movement of persons

4.2.3 Freedom to provide services

4.2.4 Free movement of capital

4.2.5 Citizenship rights

4.2.6 The state aid prohibition

4.3 Methodology of the Court of Justice

4.3.1 Finding the relevant freedom

4.3.2 Discrimination and restriction approach

4.3.3 Tax treaties and double taxation

4.3.4 Overall or per-country approach?

4.4 Conclusion

5 Tax obstacles to the cross-border movement of companies: direct investment

5.1 Company residence

5.2 Issues with the taxation of corporate groups

5.2.1 Expenses in foreign holdings

5.2.2 Cross-border loss relief

5.2.3 Controlled foreign companies

5.3 Issues with the taxation of permanent establishments

5.3.1 Defining permanent establishments

5.3.2 The different treatment of permanent establishments and companies

5.3.3 Rules for the attribution of profits and expenses

5.3.4 Notional payments and expenses

5.3.5 Cross-border loss relief

6 Tax obstacles to cross-border portfolio investment

6.1 Double taxation relief mechanisms

6.2 The taxation of inbound dividends

6.2.1 The early cases: individual shareholders

6.2.2 Later cases: corporate shareholders

6.2.3 Economic and juridical double taxation – the home state perspective

6.3 The taxation of outbound dividends

6.3.1 The early cases – Fokus Bank, ACT GLO, Denkavit and Amurta

6.3.2 Later cases – consolidation of the Court’s principles

6.3.3 The relevance of tax treaties – neutralisation of host state taxes?

6.3.4 Economic and juridical double taxation – the host state perspective?

6.3.5 Taxation on gross basis or net basis?

6.3.6 Other developments

6.4 The taxation of interest and royalties

7 Reorganisations under EU tax law

7.1 Corporate reorganisations and the Merger Directive

7.1.1 The scope of the Merger Directive

7.1.2 Reliefs under the Merger Directive

7.1.3 Case law on the Merger Directive

7.2 Corporate migration

7.2.1 Corporate law restrictions

7.2.2 The transfer of tax residence

7.2.2.1 Exit taxes

7.2.2.2 The case law of the Court of Justice: emigrating individuals v. emigrating companies?

7.2.3 The EU’s corporate vehicles

7.3 Transfer of assets

8 Tax avoidance and EU law

8.1 An EU principle of abuse of tax law?

8.2 Anti-deferral regimes

8.2.1 CFCs in international tax law

8.2.2 CFCs in EU tax law

8.3 Thin capitalisation

8.4 Transfer pricing

9 EU corporate tax law: interim conclusions and thoughts

Index