Double Tax Conventions on Income and Capital and the EU: Past, Present and Future

Double tax conventions on income and capital (DTC) build bridges between the economies of the contracting States. This paper discusses the position of DTCs in the EU based on two questions: (1) What was, is, will be, should have been, and should be the role of DTCs in the EU? (2) How did affect, does affect, will affect, should have affected, and should affect EU law DTCs? To answer these questions, the paper will look back, at the state of the art, and to the future. After setting a benchmark, it will discuss the past, starting with Art. 220 EEC Treaty (repealed in 2009), the Neumark Report (1962), the preliminary draft EC Multilateral Tax Convention on Income and Capital (1968), the Ruding Report (1992) and the European Commission's initiative on EC law and tax treaties (2005). The current position will primarily be discussed based on a number of issues addressed by the CJEU.

The future will be discussed based on the recent Commission's communication on double taxation and the internal market and the instrument of a redeveloped EU Model Tax Convention. After fifty years of talk after the Neumark Report, it is now time for real and accurate actions within the EU in respect of DTCs. The paper ends with a call to the Commission and the Council to take the lead.