Twenty Years of the EC Tax Review

The Neumark report draws attention on several occasions to taxes that affect citizens, including income tax, wealth tax, inheritance tax and taxes on motor vehicles, while also making a number of recommendations. However, the subject of citizens and taxation attracted little attention in the first fifty years of the EU, with the primary focus of cooperation being on economic matters. A Savings Tax Directive was adopted, and there has also been quite some ECJ case law on specific national schemes' compliance, or otherwise, with EU law. The Treaty of Maastricht widened European cooperation to include the second and third pillars, and also of course monetary cooperation. Another relevant development was the introduction of Citizenship of the Union. Since the Treaty of Lisbon came into force on 1 December 2009, Brussels has been devoting increasing attention to the citizens of Europe, including in the field of taxation. Tax obstacles for citizens in cross-border situations now need to be identified and resolved so that European citizens, too, can enjoy the full benefits of the single market.