Aggressive tax planning: an analysis from an EU perspective

Abstract:

Courts in many countries have found that the tax laws should be interpreted so as to prevent their avoidance by the use of transactions that have no business purpose. This goes to say that the lack of a proper business motive or transactions which do not reflect the economic reality may be interpreted as a step further to tax avoidance and therefore leads to aggressive tax planning.

The European Commission (EC) launched a public consultation on 10 November 2016 to gather feedback on the way forward for EU action on advisers and intermediaries who facilitate tax evasion, tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning. Following the public consultation, the EC published a tax paper entitled 'Study on Structures of Aggressive Tax Planning and Indicators, Final Report' highlighting the model Aggressive Tax Planning (ATP) structures and identifying ATP indicators which facilitate or allow ATP.

This article examines the said tax paper by selecting the most prevalent ATP structures and the ways in how such are countered though the EC’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Package.

ESO: Commission gathers views on future rules to deter promoters of aggressive tax planning schemes http://www.europeansources.info/record/commission-gathers-views-on-future-rules-to-deter-promoters-of-aggressive-tax-planning-schemes/

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