EC taxation commissioner Pierre Moscovici set out his ‘ambitious’ agenda for EU tax policy over the coming years, based on ‘fairness, transparency and a truly single market from a taxation point of view’ – including the relaunch of the common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) proposal, previously the subject of a draft directive in 2011 until it was opposed by the UK and a number of other member states, and which contains common rules for the calculation of companies’ taxable profits.
In his keynote speech, The future of tax policy: A matter for society as a whole – closing address ‘the way forward’, delivered in Brussels on 29 April at the Federation of European Accountants’ Tax Day 2015, Moscovici said: ‘The European Union needs an ambitious roadmap to put an end to the distortionary nature of its tax policy and regulatory framework. In my view, the way forward is clear: the EU must enhance transparency in tax matters; and member states must coordinate their tax systems to counter tax base erosion … You will all be aware of the package of measures on transparency announced last month. This proposal will help improve cooperation between tax authorities by requiring member states to automatically exchange information on tax rulings.
‘The Commission is working hard to explore how best to achieve the objective [of tax coordination]. President Juncker and I have already stated that the action plan will build on five key actions, starting with the relaunch of the CCCTB, which would harmonise the tax base for many companies operating across borders in the EU and allow businesses to consolidate their taxable profits across member states. The CCCTB … would make the internal market more competitive, as business would need to comply with just one set of tax rules and would allow them to offset profits in one member state with the losses made in another. But it would also limit the opportunities for these companies to manipulate their tax position, thereby providing a holistic approach to combating evasion within the EU. We need to assess the modalities of such a relaunch.’
EC taxation commissioner Pierre Moscovici set out his ‘ambitious’ agenda for EU tax policy over the coming years, based on ‘fairness, transparency and a truly single market from a taxation point of view’ – including the relaunch of the common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) proposal, previously the subject of a draft directive in 2011 until it was opposed by the UK and a number of other member states, and which contains common rules for the calculation of companies’ taxable profits.
In his keynote speech, The future of tax policy: A matter for society as a whole – closing address ‘the way forward’, delivered in Brussels on 29 April at the Federation of European Accountants’ Tax Day 2015, Moscovici said: ‘The European Union needs an ambitious roadmap to put an end to the distortionary nature of its tax policy and regulatory framework. In my view, the way forward is clear: the EU must enhance transparency in tax matters; and member states must coordinate their tax systems to counter tax base erosion … You will all be aware of the package of measures on transparency announced last month. This proposal will help improve cooperation between tax authorities by requiring member states to automatically exchange information on tax rulings.
‘The Commission is working hard to explore how best to achieve the objective [of tax coordination]. President Juncker and I have already stated that the action plan will build on five key actions, starting with the relaunch of the CCCTB, which would harmonise the tax base for many companies operating across borders in the EU and allow businesses to consolidate their taxable profits across member states. The CCCTB … would make the internal market more competitive, as business would need to comply with just one set of tax rules and would allow them to offset profits in one member state with the losses made in another. But it would also limit the opportunities for these companies to manipulate their tax position, thereby providing a holistic approach to combating evasion within the EU. We need to assess the modalities of such a relaunch.’