Brussels, 08/12/2015 (Agence Europe) - The translation into European law of the OECD's action plan to fight aggressive tax planning (the 'BEPS' project) is being negotiated upstream of the Commission's proposal on this point, which is expected for January.
The Luxembourg Presidency of the Council has worked on a split-off from the current proposal for a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) and has already proposed a consolidated text on the seven anti-BEPS aspects of this proposal (definition of permanent establishment, rules on foreign controlled companies, general anti-abuse rules, switchover clause, limits on deduction of interest, hybrid mismatches and exit taxes).
The text, of which EUROPE has had sight, provides for a 'de minimis' application of the OECD's recommendations. During the technical negotiations, some states felt that they could implement 'BEPS' at national level. During the public debate, the Commissioner for Taxation, Pierre Moscovici, explained that it should be avoided that “28 member states adopt 28 different ways of doing so”. However, Hungary stressed that the national tax systems should be fully respected. Lithuania explained that the elements of an anti-BEPS directive should be discussed cautiously, so that they could be implemented coherently and beneficially, bearing in mind the competitiveness of European businesses. The Maltese minister reiterated that the BEPS approach provides for a vast range of options and that at EU level, there should be a common but flexible approach.
A number of states said that the fact that they were discussing it did not mean that they necessarily subscribed to a common base. Romania also explained that it did not support the idea of cross-border tax relief, which is similar to consolidation. EUROPE will return to this. (Original version in French by Elodie Lamer)