One inheritance, one tax

Abstract:

The problem of double inheritance tax is caused by a lack of tax treaties, diverging Succession Law and diverging Inheritance Tax. In December 2011 the European Commission (EC) adopted a package of instruments to deal with the difficulties regarding cross-border inheritances, but nothing really happened since then. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) can prevent double taxation in some cases, but the scope of effect of the TFEU is limited.

In 2014 an expert group was installed by the EC to identify tax problems faced by individuals who move from one EU country to another. The expert group had to provide independent solutions for these problems. The advice of the expert group can be summarized as ‘one inheritance, one tax’. This motto will be discussed in this article.