The present thesis unambiguously states its arguments within its title: "On the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base and on its Effects on Harmful Tax Competition within the European Union". This work analyses the issue of harmful tax competition within the European Union and identifies a feasible solution in the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base. The work begins with a brief introduction concerning the link between the State and the power to levy taxes, the thesis moves to the history of the common market, later called “internal” market, of the European Union: it briefly discusses the economic and political reasons that drove its development, highlighting the main stages that led to the current system. Successively, it moves forward analyzing the “four freedoms” upon which said market is based, i.e. the free movement of people (focusing, given its relevance to the subject, on legal persons), services, goods and capital. Then, it is shown how the absence of national barriers combined with the absence of tax harmonization causes distortions, undermining the very essence of the European level playing field, as it allows (and forces) both private taxpayers and Member States to implement harmful tax competition policies, the former through aggressive tax planning, the latter through race to the bottom of the effective tax burdens imposed on large multinational groups. The EU can respond to such problem in three different ways: contextual solutions; institutional solutions; and principles-based solutions. After describing the abovementioned kinds, the work focuses on the so-called contextual solutions, one of which is the CCCTB. Successively, the evolution of European taxation is examined, highlighting its milestones, from the Neumark Report of 1962 to the most recent developments, including the so-called Monti Package (1997) and, logically, the EU Directive 2016/1164 (so-called ATAD). Having thus a general portrait of the present state of affairs, the analysis moves to the prospective contextual solution: a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB). The analysis starts with the first Directive, COM(2011)121, and later moves on to the most recent proposal, articulated in COM(2016)683 and COM(2016)685, highlighting how the different approach followed in 2016, consisting in the two steps of the common corporate tax base and the consolidation procedure, may be the reason for its future success. After a careful analysis of the proposal, it is shown how it could curb the harmful tax competition issue discussed above by adopting a formulaic approach which ignores intangibles and financial assets, but it is also shown that such success cannot be achieved without consolidation, which would resolve the issue of tax losses carrying among different Member States. To conclude the analysis, a practical application case is proposed. Finally, the CCCTB is considered in its supranational context, envisaging its inclusion as an own resource of the EU budget. In particular, it is shown how the EU budget, given the absence of European proper taxation powers, is defined entirely on the basis of available resources, which are bound by previous agreements, suggesting that the CCCTB could usher a reversal of perspective.
Il presente elaborato riporta in modo non equivoco gli argomenti in esso trattati nel suo titolo: “Sulla Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base e sui suoi effetti sulla concorrenza fiscale dannosa nell’Unione Europea”. La tesi analizza il problema della concorrenza fiscale dannosa all’interno dell’Unione Europea e identifica una possibile soluzione nella base comune imponibile consolidata. Dopo una breve introduzione concernente il legame tra Stato e potestà tributaria, l’elaborato muove verso una disamina dell’evoluzione storia del mercato comune, poi mercato interno, dell’Unione Europea: si sofferma brevemente sulle ragioni economiche e politiche che hanno fatto da propulsore alla sua evoluzione, evidenziando le tappe principali che hanno portato all'attuale sistema . Di seguito si procede ad un’analisi delle quattro libertà su cui esso si fonda, ossia la libera circolazione delle persone (focalizzandosi, data l’attinenza al tema trattato, sulle presone giuridiche), dei servizi, delle merci, dei capitali. Fatto ciò, si evidenzia come l’assenza di barriere nazionali, se congiunta all’assenza di un’integrazione tributaria, provochi distorsioni, minando l’essenza stessa del level playing field europeo, nella misura in cui consente (e costringe) sia i contribuenti privati che gli Stati membri a porre in essere politiche di concorrenza fiscale dannosa, i primi attraverso schemi di pianificazione fiscale aggressiva, i secondi attraverso una serrata spinta al ribasso dei gravami fiscali effettivi imposti a grandi gruppi multinazionali. A questa problematica l’Unione può rispondere in tre metodi differenti: soluzioni di contesto; soluzioni istituzionali; soluzioni per principii applicati. Dopo averne descritto i tre metodi, il lavoro si concentra sulle soluzioni c.d. di contesto, una delle quali è, per l’appunto, la CCCTB. Di seguito, si esamina l’evoluzione delle fiscalità europea, evidenziandone le tappe principali, dal rapporto Neumark del 1962 fino alle evoluzioni più recenti, passando in disamina il c.d. Pacchetto Monti (1997) per terminare, logicamente, con la Direttiva (UE) 2016/1164 (c.d. direttiva antiabuso, o ATAD). Avendo quindi contezza del presente, si passa ad analizza la soluzione di contesto prospettica di una base comune imponibile consolidata europea (CCCTB). L’analisi muove dalla prima direttiva, COM(2011)121, per poi passare alla proposta più recente, articolata nelle direttive COM(2016)683 e COM(2016)685, evidenziando come il differente approccio del 2016, con la separazione in due tappe della base imponibile comune e del consolidamento possa essere ragione del suo eventuale successo. Dopo un’attenta analisi della proposta, si riscontra come essa potrebbe arginare i problemi di concorrenza fiscale dannosa precedentemente esaminati per via del suo approccio formulare, che ignora i beni intangibili e finanziari, ma anche che tale riuscita non può prescindere dal consolidamento, che permetterebbe di risolvere la vexata quaestio della portabilità delle perdite fiscali registrate negli Stati membri. A conclusione dell’analisi, si propone un caso pratico d’applicazione. Infine, si prende in considerazione la CCCTB nel contesto sovrannazionale, immaginando il suo inserimento come risorsa propria all’interno del bilancio dell’Unione. Nello specifico, si constata come il bilancio sovrannazionale, in mancanza di una potestà impositiva europea, sia interamente definito su risorse disponibili vincolate da accordi pregressi, prospettando come la CCCTB possa dare inizio ad un possibile capovolgimento di prospettiva.
Sulla Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base e sui suoi effetti sulla concorrenza fiscale dannosa nell’Unione Europea.
COLUCCI, DAVIDE
2020/2021
Abstract
The present thesis unambiguously states its arguments within its title: "On the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base and on its Effects on Harmful Tax Competition within the European Union". This work analyses the issue of harmful tax competition within the European Union and identifies a feasible solution in the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base. The work begins with a brief introduction concerning the link between the State and the power to levy taxes, the thesis moves to the history of the common market, later called “internal” market, of the European Union: it briefly discusses the economic and political reasons that drove its development, highlighting the main stages that led to the current system. Successively, it moves forward analyzing the “four freedoms” upon which said market is based, i.e. the free movement of people (focusing, given its relevance to the subject, on legal persons), services, goods and capital. Then, it is shown how the absence of national barriers combined with the absence of tax harmonization causes distortions, undermining the very essence of the European level playing field, as it allows (and forces) both private taxpayers and Member States to implement harmful tax competition policies, the former through aggressive tax planning, the latter through race to the bottom of the effective tax burdens imposed on large multinational groups. The EU can respond to such problem in three different ways: contextual solutions; institutional solutions; and principles-based solutions. After describing the abovementioned kinds, the work focuses on the so-called contextual solutions, one of which is the CCCTB. Successively, the evolution of European taxation is examined, highlighting its milestones, from the Neumark Report of 1962 to the most recent developments, including the so-called Monti Package (1997) and, logically, the EU Directive 2016/1164 (so-called ATAD). Having thus a general portrait of the present state of affairs, the analysis moves to the prospective contextual solution: a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB). The analysis starts with the first Directive, COM(2011)121, and later moves on to the most recent proposal, articulated in COM(2016)683 and COM(2016)685, highlighting how the different approach followed in 2016, consisting in the two steps of the common corporate tax base and the consolidation procedure, may be the reason for its future success. After a careful analysis of the proposal, it is shown how it could curb the harmful tax competition issue discussed above by adopting a formulaic approach which ignores intangibles and financial assets, but it is also shown that such success cannot be achieved without consolidation, which would resolve the issue of tax losses carrying among different Member States. To conclude the analysis, a practical application case is proposed. Finally, the CCCTB is considered in its supranational context, envisaging its inclusion as an own resource of the EU budget. In particular, it is shown how the EU budget, given the absence of European proper taxation powers, is defined entirely on the basis of available resources, which are bound by previous agreements, suggesting that the CCCTB could usher a reversal of perspective.È consentito all'utente scaricare e condividere i documenti disponibili a testo pieno in UNITESI UNIPV nel rispetto della licenza Creative Commons del tipo CC BY NC ND.
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https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14239/631