Commission launches public consultation on double taxation

The European Commission has today launched a public consultation to identify ways to make life easier for businesses experiencing problems with double taxation in the EU. Double taxation can occur when two or more tax jurisdictions impose comparable taxation on the same income or capital. Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs said: “It is clear that all companies – big and small – should pay their fair share of tax. But this also means that double-taxation for business should be avoided. We need to ensure that businesses in the EU are not faced with problems of this kind without being given the necessary tools to resolve them. Double or multiple taxation can deter businesses from taking full advantage of their right to operate freely across borders. That is why improving double taxation dispute resolution mechanisms is so important.” Previous studies have confirmed that current tools to tackle double taxation are not sufficient. The problem has also been raised as part of the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting guidelines. In this context, the Commission intends to come forward with a legislative proposal to improve dispute resolution for double taxation later in 2016, as part of our Action Plan for Fair and Efficient Corporate Taxation presented last June. The public consultation will rununtil 10 May 2016 and is available here.