Corporate Tax Consolidation and Enhanced Cooperation in the European Union

The authors assess the economic impact of introducing consolidation with formula apportionment in the European Union and consider alternative enhanced cooperation agreements.

They find that the consolidation is likely to yield a small aggregate welfare gain in Europe. However, not all countries benefit. A coalition of winning countries reduces the welfare gain and may induce a process of adverse selection which destroys the possibility of cooperation. The authors find that a coalition of similar countries (in terms of the size of their multinational sector) is more feasible in achieving agreement and is actually preferred by those countries over a Europe-wide reform.