Story and Fundamentals of Direct Taxation at Work in the EU

Going back to the European Union (EU) fundamentals is an interesting and useful exercise. That is the case of the contribution of early history to EU foundations, objectives, and legal principles and values. It is also the case of its constutional paradigm and fiscal trends in the evolving tax case law of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) and the less successful positive tax integration by the Council and Commission. The experience with past and present thus brings us to the question of the evolution of future taxation in the EU and its internal market.

Quo vadis Europe in fiscalibus after the current Euro crisis? Will the political Union still be the same Union with the fiscal policies applied under the rule of strengthened coordination and surveillance under Article 136 TFEU, the legislative Six-pack pact, and the decisions and procedures of the Commission thereunder? This is a controversial issue that leaves us on tenterhooks wondering how it will all end.

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