The Global Minimum Tax | Selected Issues on Pillar Two

1. Introduction

In December 2022, after a lengthy negotiating process, the EU adopted the Global Minimum Tax Directive. It thereby aligned itself with the outcome of the OECD BEPS 2.0 initiative on Pillar Two. In implementing Pillar Two, the existing Union legal framework could give rise to questions and problems that need addressing to safeguard an “EU compliant” approach. It will be analysed what exactly those questions and problems are based on a 2-tiered critical analysis. First, in Chapter 2, the existence and exercise of competence of the EU in light of the Global Minimum Tax Directive will be assessed. Thereafter, in Chapter 3, the most important components of the directive will be tested against the fundamental freedoms. S. 72Subsequently, Chapter 4 will combine and elaborate upon some specific problems signalled in literature. In general, the aim is to perform a “stress-test” of the directive against the current state of play of EU law on direct taxation. It will be shown that the directive does not always pass this test scot-free and that the relationship between primary law and the directive is a relatively strained one. Because of that, due regard will be had as to whether th...