Friday, December 09, 2005

Impact of EC law on tax treaties between Member States and with third states.

The issue of the impact of EC Law on tax treaties is not only an interesting topic but also a chalenging one for the future of international tax in Europe. Therefore, it is no supprise that the EU Commission held a Meeting in Brussels on 5 July 2005 on the topic of EC Law and Tax Treaties. The contents of the meeting/workshop were now made available by the Commission.

After the introduction and presentation of the EU working document, the workshop was divided into 3 panels. The first panel examined possible conflicts between EC Law and tax treaties concluded among Member States. Such problems result mainly from court decisions of the European court of Justice. The second panel debated problems with EC Law related to tax treaties signed by individual Member States with third countries. The third panel discussed possible solutions and the role that the European Commission could play in this context.

It appears, that the existing tax treaties may need to be amended (to conform to the fast developing ECJ jurisprudence), and this workshop was certainly a step forward not only for spotting the working areas for further research but also to discuss possible ways out and ideas for the future. See for yourself the papers and presentations.

Welcome and introduction
EC Law and Tax Treaties (EU Working Document)
Annex A
Annex B
EU Presentation

FIRST PANEL (Tax Treaties between Member States)

Chaired by:
Prof. Frans Vanistendael , KU Leuven University
Other speakers:
Prof. Marjaana Helminen , University of Helsinki[Tax Treaties between Member States
Mr. Paul Farmer, Pump Court Tax Chambers, London
Mr. Arnaud de Graaf , Ministry of Finance, The Netherlands[Presentation and Slides Impact EC Law on Tax Treaties between Member States]

SECOND PANEL (Tax Treaties between Member States and Third Countries)

Chaired by:
Prof. Klaus Vogel , Ludwig-Maximilian University , Munich
Other speakers:
Prof. Hugh J. Ault , Boston College
Prof. Daniel Gutmann , University of Paris (I-Panthéon)[Tax Treaties between Member States and third Countries , Intervention by D. Gutmann]
Mestre Ana Paula Dourado , Ministry of Finance, Portugal[Tax treaties between Member States and Third Countries ]

THIRD PANEL (Possible Solutions)

Chaired by:
Prof. Peter Wattel , General-Advocate, High Court, The Hague
Other speakers:
Prof. Michael Lang , University of Vienna[EC Law and tax treaties: possible solutions ]
Prof. Pasquale Pistone , University of Salerno[Workshop on Tax Treaties and European Law European Commission, Brussels 5.7.2005 slides and text
Ms. Helen Pahapill , Ministry of Finance , Estonia

Contributions by participants:
- Prof. Daniel Deák, Corvinus University Budapest
- Prof. Albert Rädler, Universität Hamburg

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