Directive On Tax Dispute Resolution Mechanisms In The Eu

This article examines the newly adopted Directive on tax dispute resolution mechanisms in the European Union, discussing the reasons for its enactment, the disputes it covers, the specific procedures it creates, and the timing of its implementation.

In recent decades, due to the strain on international tax rules caused by the substantial increase in integration of national economies and markets, there has been a growth in the number of audit activities and tax assessments carried out by national tax administrations. National bodies and international organizations have, as a result, also begun to study and develop new rules and legal frameworks for providing taxpayers with dispute resolution mechanism more effective than those currently available. Notable among these developments is EU Council Directive 2017/1852, which introduced an efficient framework for the resolution of tax disputes and constituted a giant step toward ensuring legal certainty and a business-friendly environment for investments across Europe. This practical guide to the Directive, written by eminent tax partners and tax litigation specialists from key European jurisdictions, is the first in-depth book on this topic, explaining the law and application of the new Directive in each jurisdiction. Following an introduction describing the Directive and analysing its most salient features, each individual country chapter written by a leading local expert, reports the relevant domestic implementing measures with commentary, relevant case law, and details of mutual agreement procedures (MAPs) and arbitrations. Each country chapter fully addresses key legal and practical issues such as: competent authority decision making concerning a taxpayer complaint filed under EU Council Directive 2017/1852; domestic provisions on MAP initiated under the Directive; taxpayer entitlement to request the formation of an Advisory Commission to start the arbitration phase; effective timelines; interplay of the procedures under the Directive with national legal remedies, including litigation before competent tax courts; recurring domestic issues relating to MAPs under treaties against double taxation and the EU Arbitration Convention; and opportunity for the taxpayer to involve national courts to unblock obstacles under the existing dispute resolution mechanisms. This hugely valuable practice guide clearly explains how the Directive overcomes or greatly mitigates shortcomings in laws and initiatives such as the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI), the EU Arbitration Convention, the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) proposal, and rules to ensure that digital business activities are taxed in a fair and growth-friendly way. It demonstrates the Directive’s promise of restoring legal certainty, provision of enforceable deadlines for resolution of disputes, effective review or appeal procedures, and consistency of the application of rules throughout the EU Member States, as well as taxpayers’ greater participation in the process. The full picture it provides of the options available to resolve a tax dispute under the new EU framework will be welcomed by tax practitioners and officials concerned with issues of transfer pricing and other aspects of cross-border taxation.

With the Council's adoption of the Directive on Tax Dispute Resolution Mechanisms on 10 October 2017, the resolution of tax disputes among Member States enters a new phase. What originally started in 1976 with a proposal for a directive to settle transfer pricing disputes by means of arbitration has led to the adoption of a directive in 2017 for all disputes among Member States on the interpretation and application of their mutual tax treaties on income and capital. This Directive aims at improving existing dispute resolution mechanisms contained in these tax treaties and the EU Arbitration Convention. To that end, four specific objectives have been defined in the directive's preamble, which are (1) broadening the scope of application of the EU Arbitration Convention to all disputes concerning the application and interpretation of tax treaties between Member States; (2) ensuring legal certainty for taxpayers; (3) ensuring effectiveness and efficiency; and (4) ensuring transparency. This article examines whether each of these objectives is attained in light of the experiences gained with the EU Arbitration Convention.

This article examines Legislative Decree 49/2020, transposing the dispute resolution mechanisms of the EU Tax Dispute Resolution Directive (2017/1852) into Italian national law. The Decree introduces a new mechanism that is of particular relevance in respect of the resolution of tax disputes between Italy and other EU Member States. It provides for a binding and mandatory procedure for the competent authorities and for compatibility with domestic litigation and pre-litigation administrative settlement. Some interpretative issues concerning the scope of application of the Directive and the possibility of the procedure being available in respect of criminal conduct remain open.

This article briefly reviews the tax resolution procedures available within Spanish legislation, analysing how the transposition of Council Directive 2017/1852 will affect tax dispute resolution procedures in Spain.

Enabling power: Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Act 2010, s. 128A (1) (2) (3). Issued: 29.01.2020. Sifted: -. Made: 22.01.2020. Laid: 23.01.2020. Coming into force: 14.02.2020. Effect: None. Territorial extent & classification: E/W/S/NI. General. EC note: These Regulations are for the implementation of Council Directive (EU) 2017/1852 of 10 October 2017 on tax dispute resolution mechanisms in the European Union ("the Directive"). The purpose of the Directive is to ensure the effective resolution of disputes, which affect particular taxpayers in the European Union, concerning the interpretation and application of double taxation treaties between member States

This editorial article discusses three issues related to the new EU Tax Dispute Resolution Directive: which disputes are covered by the Directive; which disputes go beyond double taxation; and which forms of arbitration are available.

In the context of the OECD BEPS Plan and the actions undertaken by the European Union to achieve a fair and efficient corporate tax system, the enhancement of dispute resolution mechanisms between tax administrations is practically the only action aimed at boosting taxpayers' rights, which is evidence of the imbalance between the goal of a fair and efficient system and the corresponding increase in the burden on taxpayers. It is without doubt that the asymmetrical implementation of the BEPS recommendations derived from this framework, both at a domestic and at a double taxation convention (DTC) level, will generate a significant increase in disputes and hence the risk of double taxation will rise. This is why the adoption of adequate tools to mitigate such a scenario is more necessary than ever.In particular in the context of the European Union, the existence of double taxation, derived from the different interpretation and enforcement of a set of rules aimed precisely at eliminating it, arises as a meaningful impediment to the adequate functioning of the single market, as it generates distortions regarding the adoption of investment and finance decisions. This is why the recent enactment of the Directive on tax dispute resolution mechanisms in the European Union (hereinafter the Directive), has to be praised as a crucial achievement in removing unwanted double taxation. The adoption of such an instrument will enable persons affected by double taxation derived from a disparate interpretation or qualification conflict in the context of a DTC signed by EU Member States to initiate a mutual agreement procedure (MAP) between the involved tax authorities and an arbitration procedure should they not reach an agreement. This possibility significantly increases the chances that the double taxation outcome is resolved. Spain must transpose the Directive into domestic law before 30 June 2019 by modifying its existing rules in this area.In this contribution, it will be shown that double taxation has been a relentless concern within the European Union and that the Arbitration Directive is the latest achievement in a long and often unsuccessful path the European Commission has been weaving for decades to address this problem. Also, the most controversial aspects of the Directive will be analysed. Despite being a clear accomplishment overall, this instrument also presents certain relevant issues. Specifically, the scope of the Directive, the relationship between the involved tax authorities and the taxpayer throughout the whole process, and the relationship between the Directive procedures and other analogous procedures will be dealt with.

This article examines the dispute resolution mechanisms available under the EU Tax Dispute Resolution Directive (2017/1852). Although the EU Tax Dispute Resolution Directive introduces substantive improvements, the author calls for supplementary measures and guidance to ensure that the procedure will be timely and to encourage a harmonized approach by national courts. Further, the author recommends the introduction of a specialized European tax court.