Neutrality and Territoriality — Competing or Converging Concepts in European Tax Law?
Bulletin for International Taxation April/May 2015
Working Paper of the Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance No. 2015-01
25 Pages Posted: 9 Jun 2015
Date Written: June 8, 2015
Abstract
This article presents an analysis of the ECJ case law on the interaction between the fundamental freedoms and national tax systems. It pleads for a strict application of a unilateral neutrality principle based on non-discrimination and rejects those strands of the judicature which apply an overall perspective to the taxation of cross-border events by two (or more) involved states. The article criticizes the emerging trend in the ECJ’s jurisprudence to stress the territorial demarcation of Member States’ taxing rights and supports a sophisticated application of the concept of "coherence" in order to reconcile the requirements of neutrality with the territorial limitations of taxing power.
Keywords: international tax law, European tax law, international tax allocation
JEL Classification: F23, H25, K34
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation