Latest blog articles

  • After the initial relief that followed upon reaching a Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Christmas Eve, we slowly see how this treaty is going to affect the tax domain. In this blog I will briefly focus on the area of fiscal state aid, i.e. the...

  • law_schumacker_blog

    Schumacker

    Schumacker is one of the most important cases in EU tax law. It opened the door to many more legal proceedings before the CJEU that tested the limits the Member States’ tax sovereignty against the force of EU law.

  • There has been much brouhaha about equalization levies in the context of the digital economy. One of the hotly debated issues is whether such levies are covered by tax treaties at all. In this post, I should like to reflect over this issue as objectively as possible. I shall not, however, delve into...

  • In a little more than one week we saw a series of judgements and a European Commission decision that may again test the limits of the European Union's state aid system in its application to matters of direct taxation.

  • Current developments in the area of cross-country joint audits could reduce administrative burdens and enhance legal certainty. But, what are joint audits? This contribution shortly elaborates on the concept and the current developments of joint audits that could facilitate a cross-country concept...

  • Recent events suggest that the Eurozone may soon be entering a new phase of its short but already tumultuous life. As the dust of the sovereign debt crisis starts settling, and the continent slowly returns to growth, winds of change are blowing across the zone, and EMU reform is back on the EU...

  • On 21 June 2017, the European Commission released its Proposal on transparency rules for tax intermediaries. It primarily seeks to address concerns raised by the ECOFIN Council and the European Parliament in trying to investigate and tackle the role of intermediaries in tax evasion and tax avoidance...

  • Together with experts from the various disciplines, ITEM made an inventory of the problems encountered by cross-border workers in the areas of taxation, social insurance and pensions. The committee offered 39 recommendations for solving these problems.

  • Last February, the European Commission issued its report on the Member States’ compliance with their implementation duties under the Fiscal Compact. Following a rather generous and prudent assessment, the Commission considers that all States have fulfilled their obligations.

  • It is time for tax return once again. Millions of taxpayers will submit their 2016 tax declarations between 1 March and 1 May 2017. This blog is only available in Dutch.