State Aid Subsidy And Tax Incentives Under Eu And Wto Law

This book provides an analysis of the multi-level regulation of State aid and subsidy in the regulatory context of taxation. Starting from a review of the substantive provisions of tax incentives as provided for in European law and in WTO law, the author moves on to examine how these legal frameworks are enforced at national levels. The book covers practical elements in the following areas: legal regimes of State aid and subsidy (including rules on compatibility with the internal market, classification of subsidies and analysis of prohibited subsidies in taxation); definitions of state aid and subsidy; analysis of the criteria for tax selectivity and specificity; administrative and judicial review; rights of taxpayers as private parties in State aid and subsidy litigations; remedies (including recovery, withdrawal and countervailing duties); overlaps between EU and WTO rules; liabilities in situations of conflict; case law of the Court and WTO adjudicating bodies.

The book provides insights to the alleviation of tensions between Chinese tax incentives and the WTO’s subsidy rules, thus further offering implications for both China and the WTO on integrating in the world economy. Moreover, doing a comparative study with EU State aid law can also provide China with a source of inspiration for reviewing its legal mechanism in respect of tax incentives and the WTO for rethinking its subsidy rules with regard to achieving its objectives and purposes. Academics and students in related subject will be interested to read the book. Practitioners doing business related to China, EU and international trade can be very interested in this book. Policymakers in both China and EU can also get valuable knowledge and inspiration from the book.

The book provides insights to the alleviation of tensions between Chinese tax incentives and the WTO's subsidy rules, thus further offering implications for both China and the WTO on integrating in the world economy. Moreover, doing a comparative study with EU State aid law can also provide China with a source of inspiration for reviewing its legal mechanism in respect of tax incentives and the WTO for rethinking its subsidy rules with regard to achieving its objectives and purposes. Academics and students in related subject will be interested to read the book. Practitioners doing business related to China, EU and international trade can be very interested in this book. Policymakers in both China and EU can also get valuable knowledge and inspiration from the book.

This book investigates whether the European Commission (EC) has the mandate to legislate on direct taxation in sovereign states and ultimately questions whether the EC’s enforcement action in recent tax ruling cases, in the area of state aid, respects the rule of law.

This book presents a conceptual analysis of the definitions of state aid and subsidy in EC and WTO law. It provides a comparative analysis of the regulation of subsidy in both systems, examining the coherence of the conceptual understanding of subsidy and the grounds for legitimate state intervention.

This book provides clear guidance on what constitutes State Aid in the area of tax law. It clearly explains the situations in which beneficial tax provisions for the taxpayer – e.g., lower tax rates for certain industries or for certain economic zones, advantageous depreciation rules, or exemptions – can be declared void by the European Commission. The difficult controlling concept of ‘selectivity’ of an aid is dealt with extensively. Drawing on familiarity with the practice of the Commission, as well as the jurisprudence of the General Court and of the Court of Justice, thirteen knowledgeable contributors present valuable arguments in case the Commission requires the repayment of advantages received. Among the topics and issues covered are the following: how unregulated tax incentive competition between States leads to a ‘win’ by one State and a ‘loss’ by another; the legal uncertainty attached to the Commission’s decision following notification of a proposed tax incentive; the role of the Commission’s Code of Conduct; calculating the amount of recovery of illegal State Aid; application of State Aid rules in the area of indirect taxation (e.g., VAT and excise duties); investment fund regimes; subnational regional aid; ‘patent box’ regimes; foreign source income; and taxpayers’ exclusion from infringement proceedings and subsequent appeals. Complete with case studies and analyses of the latest case law on selectivity, this invaluable resource will be welcomed by practitioners who, although they may be well-versed in tax law, are sure to benefit greatly from the authors’ expert guidance on State Aid provisions and the rules on harmful tax competition.

This volume analyses the concept of aid and examines fundamental questions concerning the scope of state aid law. It also draws a comparison with WTO provisions on subsidies and looks at EEA and applicant states' state aid regimes. It then focuses upon selected areas of state aid law and policy.

This book enables readers with a tax background to place taxation in the perspective of trade subsidy regulation. For experts in the field of EC state aid regulation and/or the WTO Subsidies Agreement it provides insight in certain tax aspects of both regimes.

This book is a compilation of contributions exploring the impact of the European Treaty provisions regarding state aid on Member States’ legislation and administrative practice in the area of business taxation. Starting from a detailed analysis of the European Courts’ jurisprudence on Art.107 TFEU the authors lay out fundamental issues – e.g. on legal concepts like “advantage”, “selectivity” and “discrimination” – and explore current problems – in particular policy and practice regarding “harmful” tax competition within the European Union. This includes the Member States’ Code of Conduct on business taxation, the limits to anti-avoidance legislation and the options for legislation on patent boxes. The European Commission’s recent findings on preferential “rulings” are discussed as well as the general relationship between international tax law, transfer pricing standards and the European prohibition on selective fiscal aids.