The European Commission has opened a public consultation into its proposed scheme for a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) ahead of its planned re-launch next year.
The EU's executive arm is seeking insights from stakeholders by January 8th as it seeks to build unanimous political support for a common tax base for the European Union.
Launching the consultation process on Thursday, EU economics commissioner Pierre Moscovici said he remained convinced that the CCCTB is "the best instrument for fighting cross-border tax abuse and tax fraud and for easing the administrative burden on companies operating in the EU."
The Commission said the aim of the consultation in particular was to gather views on the extent to which a common tax base for the EU “could function as an effective tool against aggressive tax planning without compromising its initial objective of making the Single Market a more business-friendly environment.”
The idea of a common corporate tax base for Europe, which would streamline the way companies calculate and allocate their profits across the EU, is strongly opposed by Ireland and a number of other EU countries.
Agenda on Taxation
The European Commission put the proposed re-launch of the controversial CCCTB at the centre of its Agenda on Taxation unveiled in May, reflecting a move towards corporate taxation harmonisation at an EU level under the Juncker Commission.
The Commission is also understood to be proposing its own EU directive on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) following the publication of the OECD standards on Monday, based on elements of the existing CCCTB proposal.
Earlier this week EU finance ministers endorsed a new EU directive obliging countries to share details of tax rulings they offer individual countries with other revenue authorities across the EU.
As part of its bid to gain political support for the CCCTB, which has been languishing in the EU legislative system, the Commission is intending to defer the “consolidated” aspect of the proposal, which deals with how profits and losses are treated across countries. Once the idea of a common base is secured, the Commission hopes that the concept of consolidation will then be introduced.
Among the questions stakeholders are being asked to consider as part of the public consultation are: which criteria should determine the companies that will be subject to the new rules, and whether the “step-by-step” suggestion whereby the consolidation element is deterred is the best approach.
