Proposal for a Council Directive on BEFIT: an Initial Assessment
124 Pages Posted: 9 Nov 2023
Date Written: October 12, 2023
Abstract
This study analyses the critical issues of legal interpretation that might arise from the application of the proposed BEFIT Directive and puts forward possible solutions, focusing on four main areas.
The first area (scope) analyses (i) the unequal treatment of companies that the annex may create and the Commission’s delegated power to amend it; (ii) the possible conflict with double tax treaties, namely on PE profit attribution and on ownership non-discrimination rules. The second area (preliminary tax result) emphasises the need for greater coordination with other secondary law, especially the GMT directive. The third area (tax base allocation) evaluates: (i) the issues surrounding losses; (ii) the distortions caused by the transitional 'presumptive' transfer pricing rules on the tax base allocation and the conflict with CJEU case law; (iii) and shows how the unlimited power of Member States to adjust their BEFIT base may undermine the fundamental goals of the proposed Directive. Finally, the fourth area (administration and procedures) shows that (i) the two-tier procedural obligations are hard to reconcile with the spirit of the announced one-stop shop compliance mechanism, and that; (ii) legal uncertainty might arise as to the impact of the proposed Directive on domestic procedural rules.
Keywords: BEFIT directive, European Union, European Commission, CJEU
JEL Classification: K33, K34, F13, E62, D78, E62, F02, F23, F42, H20, H22, H23, H25, H26, H87, O19, O23, O24
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation