A Consolidated Tax Base as a Gateway to the Harmonisation of the Corporate Tax in EU Countries

Abstract

The fundamental objective of the European Union law is to develop the internal market and eliminate all barriers to its functioning. Since the taxation systems of EU member states are highly varied, one of the elements of common market development is the harmonisation of tax regulations. This article contributes to the discussion by indicating the necessity to harmonise various taxation systems of the European Union with respect to the corporate tax.

The European Commission has prepared a draft directive in accordance with which the way the tax base is determined would be subject to harmonisation, whereas tax rates would be set by individual member states. The author claims that the common consolidated corporate tax base would lead to the simplification of the provisions of tax law, limitation of costs related to tax documentation and elimination of all barriers resulting from the activity of companies in two or more member states.

The process of tax harmonisation is inevitable in the long term and constitutes a natural outcome of integration processes. The concept of a single and common tax policy is the basic condition for the European Union to gain strength in terms of its competitiveness against other economies, such as theUSAorChina.