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Ag taispeáint 10 as 22 torthaí

EU Member States' public finances have been under considerable strain owing to both the COVID-19 pandemic and the twin energy-cost-of-living crisis. To bolster EU economies in the wake of these challenging times, various initiatives were taken forward at EU level to simplify tax compliance for businesses operating across borders, and to ensure that taxpayers were paying their fair share. As the current Commission's mandate approaches its conclusion, this briefing looks at some notable achievements ...

In most countries in the European Union (EU) and in the rest of the world, debt is treated more favourably from a tax perspective than equity, with interest payments on loans generally being tax deductible. In contrast, costs relating to equity financing, such as dividends, are mostly non-tax deductible. This unequal treatment of debt and equity leads to a bias towards debt in businesses' investment decisions and can lead to high levels of indebtedness in the EU corporate sector. On 11 May 2022, ...

In May 2022, the Commission tabled a proposal ('DEBRA') to address the debt-equity bias in corporate taxation. As debt is treated more favourably from a tax perspective than equity, European companies are significantly more reliant on bank loans when funding new investments. To address this bias, the Commission proposes to introduce an allowance that will grant equity the same tax treatment as debt. The Council must vote unanimously, after consulting the Parliament, to adopt the directive. Parliament ...

This report examines the role of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in tax havens. About 40-45% of the global FDI stock is hosted in tax havens, while their share in the world economy is only around 4½%. These abnormal FDI patterns suggest that FDI and international corporate tax avoidance are closely related. Traditional tax havens are attractive because of zero tax rates and uncooperative behaviour. For European tax havens it is rather a mix of policies related to improving the investment climate ...

Since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, more than eight million men, women and children have fled Ukraine, looking for safety in Europe. Amidst the uncertainty regarding the future of the war and the tragic and extremely difficult circumstances, many Ukrainians have sought to build a new life in their 'host countries'. Concerns have been raised by the Ukrainian government, however, as to how the host countries will treat the income gained by Ukrainian refugees outside Ukraine for ...

Shell companies – or 'shells' – are entities that have no or minimal economic activity. While they can sometimes serve useful commercial functions, they can also be abused for the purposes of aggressive tax planning or tax evasion. The Commission's 'Unshell' proposal is designed to prevent EU shell companies from benefiting from tax advantages. Parliament will discuss and vote on a report on the subject during its January I 2023 plenary.

More flexible VAT rates

Briefing 26-09-2022

Value added tax (VAT) is an important source of revenue for national governments and the European Union (EU) budget and, from an economic point of view, a very efficient consumption tax. However, the rules governing value added tax as applied to intra-Community trade are almost 30 years old and the current common EU VAT system is both complicated and vulnerable to fraud. Businesses doing cross-border trade face high compliance costs and the administrative burden of national tax administrations is ...

While business tax incentives are used widely, concerns have been raised in recent years regarding their effectiveness, their impact on public finances and whether they could potentially distort the EU single market. With important innovation challenges ahead relating to the green and digital twin transition, tax incentives are increasingly being used to boost investment in the area of research and development.

Books and book lovers in the EU

Sracfhéachaint 21-04-2021

At a time when many schools, libraries and bookshops around the world remain closed and people are spending more time at home, books can do wonders in combating isolation, while stimulating readers' minds and creativity. Every year since 1995, on 23 April, World Book and Copyright Day is celebrated all over the world. Launched by UNESCO, the event is an opportunity to celebrate the importance of reading and promote a lifelong interest in books.

Model estimates of NPLs of a large sample of banks in the euro area suggest that macro-economic factors drive NPLs. This implies that the NPL-ratio may not increase in a similar fashion as after the global financial crisis. However, the low fit of the model shows that idiosyncratic factors play a major role in explaining NPLs. This is illustrated in a case study for the Netherlands which suggests that deferred tax payments may lead to increasing NPLs. This paper was prepared by the Economic Governance ...