Commission proposes major corporate tax reform for the EU

The European Commission announced on 25 October 2016 a package of proposals aiming to overhaul the way in which companies are taxed in the Single Market, in the context of its Action Plan for Fair and Efficient Corporate Taxation in the European Union of June 2015.

The package includes:

+ Re-launch of the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB);

+ a proposal on improving the resolution of double taxation disputes in the European Union;

+ a proposal aiming to stop companies from exploiting hybrid mismatches between member states and non-EU countries' tax systems to escape taxation.

It also contains the Chapeau Communication, outlining the political and economic rationale behind the proposals, as well as impact assessments.

The CCCTB was first proposed in March 2011, but member states failed to reach a final agreement on that proposal. Following subsequent consultations, the Commission decided to launch an improved version. The third proposal builds on the anti-tax avoidance directive, adopted in July 2016.

• Primary Source

European Commission: DG Communication: RAPID: MEMO/16/3488, 25.10.16: Questions and Answers on the package of corporate tax reforms http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-16-3488_en.htm

European Parliament: Press Release, 26.10.16: MEPs welcome Commission’s corporate tax proposals http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20161020IPR47908/

European Commission: DG Communication: SPEECH/16/3552, 26.10.16: Speech by Commissioner Pierre Moscovici at the press conference on the package of corporate tax reforms http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_SPEECH-16-3552_en.htm

EurActiv, 27.10.16: Brussels aims to harmonise corporate tax by 2021 http://www.euractiv.com/section/euro-finance/news/brussels-aims-to-harmonise-corporate-tax-by-2021/

EUObserver, 27.10.16: Commission revives corporate taxation plan https://euobserver.com/economic/135674

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