Tax policy

All news and posts of our editorial team on the topic

Automotive industry calls for more support from Brussels
Hildegard Müller, President of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), is calling for more support from the EU and the German government. While the international competition between locations is becoming increasingly fierce, Berlin and Brussels too often lack speed and practical concepts. Politicians are getting bogged down in more and more rules and […] continue reading →
EU wants to generate more tax revenue from digital businesses
VAT is one of the most important sources of revenue for EU member states. But they lost an estimated €93 billion in VAT revenue in 2020 alone. This was determined by the European Commission in a report on the VAT gap. Now the Commission wants to modernize the system and ensure that it becomes more […] continue reading →
Dozens of EU definitions related to hydrogen
Building the hydrogen economy is complicated by the multitude of different definitions of terms. This is the conclusion of a new publication by the Foundation for Environmental Energy Law (SUER). “The multitude of hydrogen-related terms used in Union law, as well as the sometimes different definitions of the same terms, lead to an incoherent legal […] continue reading →
Commission postpones tobacco tax reform
The Commission’s proposal for tobacco tax reform will not come next Wednesday after all. It has been removed from the list of items scheduled for next week’s Commission meeting. Now it is not expected until next year. As reported by Europe.Table, the Commission intends to propose drastically higher minimum excise taxes for all tobacco products, […] continue reading →
Exclusive: Commission wants tax increases for tobacco
Member states are to increase excise taxes on tobacco and tobacco-related products sharply. In Germany, the minimum tax on cigarettes would double, and on cigars and cigarillos, it would increase by a factor of nine. The Commission's proposal is due on Dec. 7. continue reading →
Tax dispute with Fiat: EU Commission loses at ECJ
According to the European Court of Justice, the EU Commission was wrong to decide that a Fiat subsidiary in Luxembourg must pay back taxes. There was no illegal state aid, the judges in Luxembourg announced on Tuesday. The Commission’s decision is therefore null and void.In 2015, the EU competition watchdogs had ruled that Fiat’s subsidiary […] continue reading →
Excess profits tax for oil companies only a paper tiger
In the crisis, the profits of some fossil energy companies are rising. The EU has decided on a solidarity contribution, but the member states have room for maneuver. The German government, however, expects only low revenues, apparently aiming for a minimum solution. continue reading →
Minimum tax: Five EU states increase pressure on Hungary
At the EU finance ministers' meeting, five states announce that they will follow through with the internationally agreed minimum tax on their own if necessary. This way, they want to circumvent Viktor Orbán's blockade at the EU level. The German Ministry of Finance is already working on a concrete implementation plan. continue reading →
Germany works on 69-euro public transport ticket
The nationwide 9-euro ticket has expired. The plan is to continue it as a 69-euro ticket. The federal government is still negotiating the financing with the states. The "company car privilege" is not to be touched. However, a mileage log may have to be kept in the future. continue reading →
EU Commissioner Gentiloni shows alternatives to VAT exemption
The German government’s requested exemption from value-added tax for the planned gas levy is off the table. The current legal framework does not allow an exemption for the gas levy, EU Commissioner for Economy, Paolo Gentiloni, wrote in a letter to German Minister of Finance Christian Lindner (FDP) on Wednesday. He also said the Commission […] continue reading →
Italy lacks €9 billion from excess profits tax
Many Italian energy companies have apparently refused to make an initial payment of an excess profits tax due by the end of June. The government is thus missing revenue of more than €9 billion, according to a document from the Finance Ministry in Rome obtained by the Reuters news agency on Tuesday. Between €10 and […] continue reading →
EU own resources: Budget Commissioner Hahn urges haste
Budget Commissioner Johannes Hahn is calling on EU member states to agree on additional sources of funding by 2023 or 2024, saying that only on this condition can the levies be technically implemented. continue reading →
Special tax for banks and energy companies: These are Madrid’s plans
In the gas crisis, the profits of companies in the energy trade have risen sharply, and banks are profiting from the rise in interest rates, according to the Spanish government. Many governments in Europe are therefore discussing taxes on excess profits, including the German government. Madrid has now decided on this measure. continue reading →
Tax giveaways to companies: UK loses challenge to EU ruling
The UK has failed in the EU court to recover an order from the European Commission to pay back millions of euros in illicit tax benefits from companies such as the London Stock Exchange. The court in Luxembourg rejected the arguments and upheld the European Commission’s 2019 decision, which was issued before the UK left […] continue reading →
Germany rules out excess profits tax
German Finance Minister Christian Lindner has ruled out submitting a draft law to tax so-called excess profits that some companies and industries are suspected of accruing as a result of the war in Ukraine. “Of course no,” the FDP leader said in Berlin on Tuesday in response to a question about a corresponding draft law.This […] continue reading →
France expects delayed implementation of global tax reform
The global tax reform will probably not come into force until the end of 2023 or early 2024 – and thus a year later than originally planned. This is what France’s Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire announced in Brussels on Tuesday. The decisive factor, he said, is that the reform succeeds at all. It […] continue reading →
Poland blocks implementation of minimum tax in the EU
European finance ministers have been unable to agree on a joint implementation of the global minimum tax. German Finance Minister Christian Lindner (FDP) said in Luxembourg on Tuesday that all countries except Poland had agreed. He said it was regrettable that there was no signal of unity in Europe despite good preliminary work. It is […] continue reading →
EU Commission presents initiative against shell corporation
In the fight against the abusive use of shell corporations for tax purposes, the EU Commission presented a proposal for a new legal act on Wednesday. European companies that have no or only a minor business activity should not be able to claim tax benefits so that taxpayers are not financially burdened.“The future monitoring and […] continue reading →