Introduction to European Tax Law on Direct Taxation

I. Introduction

A. Background and Origins

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The fight against tax evasion and tax avoidance has attracted significant media attention over the past decade. In an attempt to multilaterally tackle this issue, at the behest of the G-20, the OECD released reports on 15 actions dealing with the fight against base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) in 2013, which were ‘finalized’ in 2015. As countries work towards implementing the BEPS actions, the efforts of the EU toward coordinated action in this regard has assumed great significance.

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The implementation of measures against tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning becomes even more challenging in the context of a common internal market with strongly diverging direct tax legislation amongst the Member States, where, in particular, the fundamental freedoms provide taxpayer protection and free movement. The danger of aggressive tax planning and tax avoidance has been recogS. 204nized politically at the EU level. Even prior to the BEPS reports, the European Commission (Commission) issued several resolutions, communications (containing action plans) and recommendations in this regard. Tax avoidance was also addressed through the issuance of rules on ...