On July 29, 2016, the firm published an alert memo titled “Three Years of EU State Aid Review of Tax Rulings: Taking Stock.”
In 2013, the European Commission started investigating tax ruling practices of Member States under the EU State aid rules. The Commission investigations take place in the context of a global push for international tax transparency and automatic exchange of tax information between tax authorities, which significantly increases the probability that base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) strategies are detected. The ruling investigations so far led to three decisions and several guidelines. But appeals are pending and the boundaries of EU law in this area remain unsettled.
Against this background, multinational groups relying on tax rulings from EU tax administrations should monitor and mitigate their State aid risk.