The implications of State Aid can affect businesses operating within the EU, to protect your business it is vital to understand the risks in terms of both tax and corporate arrangements.
Over the last couple of years, EU State Aid rules have been increasingly invoked to overturn tax rulings given by tax authorities to businesses operating in the EU. Although it is the actions of Member States that have been challenged, it is the affected businesses that have paid the cost in the form of multi-million Euro tax bills.
In the current tax climate, it is anticipated that the European Commission will look to apply the State Aid rules more widely. Having a good understanding of the issues and risks is, therefore, essential for business, in terms of both tax and of ther corporate arrangements.
Eversheds recently held a State Aid and Tax discussion which was lead by our tax experts Totis Kotsonis, Ben jones and Giles Salmond who were joined by barrister Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho from 39 Essex Chambers and a representative from HM Treasury who together discussed the implications of State Aid tax challenges for businesses operating in the EU and what might be coming next.
Areas that we covered included:
- an overview of how State Aid operates and its application to -tax
- what tax areas may be at risk of State Aid challenge
- what are the potential costs of a State Aid challenge and how could these costs be mitigated?
- how can businesses operating in the EU assess their risk of challenge and prepare for any such challenge?
- what is the reaction of the UK Government to such challenges and is the UK itself at risk of challenge?
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Opportunities and challenges of managing a globally mobile workforceEversheds Sutherland
Exploring the challenges and opportunities of managing a globally mobile workforce as well as guidance on dealing with complex legal requirements and cultural backgrounds.
Join this webinar to hear the latest developments, including how businesses are addressing their human rights impacts and are reporting progress, for example, in accordance the Modern Slavery Act and UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights. We will also share the results of our comprehensive survey of General Counsels. The survey addresses their involvement in human rights risks and management, as well as providing practical insight into their challenges and priorities.
Over the last couple of years, EU State Aid rules have been increasingly invoked to overturn tax rulings given by tax authorities to businesses operating in the EU. Although it is the actions of Member States that have been challenged, it is the affected businesses that have paid the cost in the form of multi-million Euro tax bills.
In the current tax climate, it is anticipated that the European Commission will look to apply the State Aid rules more widely. Having a good understanding of the issues and risks is, therefore, essential for business, in terms of both tax and of ther corporate arrangements.
Eversheds recently held a State Aid and Tax discussion which was lead by our tax experts Totis Kotsonis, Ben jones and Giles Salmond who were joined by barrister Kelly Stricklin-Coutinho from 39 Essex Chambers and a representative from HM Treasury who together discussed the implications of State Aid tax challenges for businesses operating in the EU and what might be coming next.
Areas that we covered included:
- an overview of how State Aid operates and its application to -tax
- what tax areas may be at risk of State Aid challenge
- what are the potential costs of a State Aid challenge and how could these costs be mitigated?
- how can businesses operating in the EU assess their risk of challenge and prepare for any such challenge?
- what is the reaction of the UK Government to such challenges and is the UK itself at risk of challenge?
To address the future separation of UK and EU law, all contracts should now include transitional Brexit and change/divergence of law provisions. This webinar is an update on the key areas including currency risk, customs and trade assumptions.
Opportunities and challenges of managing a globally mobile workforceEversheds Sutherland
Exploring the challenges and opportunities of managing a globally mobile workforce as well as guidance on dealing with complex legal requirements and cultural backgrounds.
Join this webinar to hear the latest developments, including how businesses are addressing their human rights impacts and are reporting progress, for example, in accordance the Modern Slavery Act and UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights. We will also share the results of our comprehensive survey of General Counsels. The survey addresses their involvement in human rights risks and management, as well as providing practical insight into their challenges and priorities.
Eversheds CREATE Workshop #1: Real estate holding structuresEversheds Sutherland
Corporate Real Estate Academy Training at Eversheds (CREATE) is a series of workshops designed to further your knowledge of indirect real estate and corporatised real estate transactions.
CREATE Workshop #1: Real Estate Holding Structures explored:
• typical structures used for holding real estate and real estate joint ventures
• why each structure is used and by whom
• trends and how the status quo is changing
Neill Blundell provides an update of recent bribery activity around the world and discusses whether it is a real issue for business or merely an overstated problem.
This presentation by Norwegian Competition Authority was made during the discussion on "Independence of competition authorities - from designs to practices" held at the 15th Global Forum on Competition on 1 December 2016. More papers and presentations on the topic can be found out at www.oecd.org/competition/globalforum/independence-of-competition-authorities.htm
EU VAT Alert: EU agrees to a generalised system of VAT reverse chargeAlex Baulf
Member States are currently under a severe threat from fraudsters who take advantage of the EU VAT system. The VAT gap – the difference between the amount of VAT that is forecast to be collectable by the Member States and the amount that is actually collected – runs to many billions of Euros.
For trade in certain goods, Member States are currently entitled to designate the purchaser as the entity obliged to pay the VAT due on the transaction. The system is known as the reverse charge mechanism and it is now used for most B2B transactions for intra EU supplies of services.
Following a recent ECOFIN meeting, we understand that the Czech Finance Minister - Andrej Babis is claiming that the EU Commission has agreed to an extension to the reverse charge mechanism to cover all supplies of goods. The Commission has, apparently, agreed to introduce legislation to implement a generalised reverse charge system by as soon as the end of 2016. This would constitute a change of heart by the Commission which has previously opposed such a move.
However, we understand that Mr Babis threatened to veto other measures aimed at combating corporate tax avoidance. The quid pro quo for his co-operation was the Commissions agreement to the introduction of the generalised reverse charge system.
Comment – The Commission is anxious to reduce the level of VAT fraud with the EU. Indeed, it states as much in its recent 'Action Plan for VAT'. Businesses involved in selling goods will wish to keep an eye on these developments as their VAT reporting and accounting systems will need to be re-configured.
This presentation by Prof. R Nieuwenkamp was made during the Promoting Responsible Investment in Myanmar Conference (4 March 2014, Yangon) at the session the opportunities for RBC in Myanmar.
Find out more at http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/2014-conference-promoting-responsible-investment-myanmar.htm
This presentation by Norway (NCA), was made during the presentations on “Tools for Addressing Competitive Neutrality” held at the 67th meeting of the OECD Working Party No.2 of the Competition Committee on 3 June 2019. More information on the topic can be found at ww.oecd.org/competition/competitive-neutrality.htm.
To introduce State Aid and how it will affect the Creative Research & Development Partnerships as part of the Creative Industries Clusters Programme. Presented at the Award Holders Workshop held in Belfast in February 2019 and facilitated by Emyr Lewis, Partner, Blake Morgan and prepared in consultation with Clwstwr Creadigol, Cardiff University.
Eversheds CREATE Workshop #1: Real estate holding structuresEversheds Sutherland
Corporate Real Estate Academy Training at Eversheds (CREATE) is a series of workshops designed to further your knowledge of indirect real estate and corporatised real estate transactions.
CREATE Workshop #1: Real Estate Holding Structures explored:
• typical structures used for holding real estate and real estate joint ventures
• why each structure is used and by whom
• trends and how the status quo is changing
Neill Blundell provides an update of recent bribery activity around the world and discusses whether it is a real issue for business or merely an overstated problem.
This presentation by Norwegian Competition Authority was made during the discussion on "Independence of competition authorities - from designs to practices" held at the 15th Global Forum on Competition on 1 December 2016. More papers and presentations on the topic can be found out at www.oecd.org/competition/globalforum/independence-of-competition-authorities.htm
EU VAT Alert: EU agrees to a generalised system of VAT reverse chargeAlex Baulf
Member States are currently under a severe threat from fraudsters who take advantage of the EU VAT system. The VAT gap – the difference between the amount of VAT that is forecast to be collectable by the Member States and the amount that is actually collected – runs to many billions of Euros.
For trade in certain goods, Member States are currently entitled to designate the purchaser as the entity obliged to pay the VAT due on the transaction. The system is known as the reverse charge mechanism and it is now used for most B2B transactions for intra EU supplies of services.
Following a recent ECOFIN meeting, we understand that the Czech Finance Minister - Andrej Babis is claiming that the EU Commission has agreed to an extension to the reverse charge mechanism to cover all supplies of goods. The Commission has, apparently, agreed to introduce legislation to implement a generalised reverse charge system by as soon as the end of 2016. This would constitute a change of heart by the Commission which has previously opposed such a move.
However, we understand that Mr Babis threatened to veto other measures aimed at combating corporate tax avoidance. The quid pro quo for his co-operation was the Commissions agreement to the introduction of the generalised reverse charge system.
Comment – The Commission is anxious to reduce the level of VAT fraud with the EU. Indeed, it states as much in its recent 'Action Plan for VAT'. Businesses involved in selling goods will wish to keep an eye on these developments as their VAT reporting and accounting systems will need to be re-configured.
This presentation by Prof. R Nieuwenkamp was made during the Promoting Responsible Investment in Myanmar Conference (4 March 2014, Yangon) at the session the opportunities for RBC in Myanmar.
Find out more at http://mneguidelines.oecd.org/2014-conference-promoting-responsible-investment-myanmar.htm
This presentation by Norway (NCA), was made during the presentations on “Tools for Addressing Competitive Neutrality” held at the 67th meeting of the OECD Working Party No.2 of the Competition Committee on 3 June 2019. More information on the topic can be found at ww.oecd.org/competition/competitive-neutrality.htm.
To introduce State Aid and how it will affect the Creative Research & Development Partnerships as part of the Creative Industries Clusters Programme. Presented at the Award Holders Workshop held in Belfast in February 2019 and facilitated by Emyr Lewis, Partner, Blake Morgan and prepared in consultation with Clwstwr Creadigol, Cardiff University.
Financial Transaction Tax as a Resource for the Covid-19 Crisis ? University of Ferrara
This presentation has been delivered on November 19th 2020 at the University of Lyon 3 "Jean Moulin" during my visit as research fellow. I argue that FTT could be an optimal and sustainable revenue generator for the state which are battling the crisis and its aftermath.
Recent developments in the field of VAT: a view from the European CommissionDLA Piper Nederland N.V.
This workshop has been held at Legal Business Day on 8 September 2011.
This presentation takes you through the future of VAT from an EU perspective, giving detailed background information on the future VAT reforms and insight into what can be expected in the future VAT framework in Europe. Special attention is paid to the practical implications of the new European Council Regulation clarifying the existing VAT rules.
During this workshop DLA Piper specialists shared information concerning the key decision makers in Europe and the value of early participation in the legislative process for your business. A case study was presented, which focuses on the practical issues you may face if your business were to get involved in the legislative process.
On your mark EU Financial Transaction Tax for asset managersKNOWitALL
TO GET READY FOR THE EU FINANCIAL TRANSACTION TAX FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS ARE IN A RACE AGAINST TIME AND POLITICS!
The article reviews the progress of legislative developments regarding the Financial Transactions Tax proposed by 11 member states of the EU. Drawing from the industry’s experience of implementing similar transaction taxes it analyses impact from the perspective of the operational challenges posed and makes a case for considering these wider implications in time to ensure regulatory compliance.
This presentation has been prepared for the LL.M. in International taxation at the ELTE University of Budapest and discussed on February 9th 2019 with the students.
Credits are at the end of the file.
International Indirect Tax - Global VAT/GST update (March 2018)Alex Baulf
These are the slides from the International Indirect Tax - Global VAT/GST update presented at Grant Thornton's VAT Club held in London on 9th March 2018.
The topics discussed include:
EU
• Bulgarian Presidency
• VAT Action Plan – proposal for a Definitive VAT System based on destination principle
• Customs: Binding Valuation Information (BVI)
• Considerations for using TP for Customs value
• Hungary: Electronic Invoicing
• Spain: SII 1.1 new version
• Italy: Simplifications to “Communications of data of invoices issued and received”
• Italy: Mandatory e-invoicing?
EMEA
• South Africa: VAT rate increase
• GCC – where are we?
• UAE: What's been released ? What's missing? Designated Zones
NOAM
• USA: Landmark sales tax nexus case to be heard in Supreme Court
APAC
• India: GST update
• China: Further VAT reform
• Malaysia: GST Compliance Assurance Program (MyGCAP)
• Singapore: Future GST rate increase / reverse charge
• Australia: Final guidance published for online retailers - GST on low value imported goods
This publication has been prepared only as a high level guide. No responsibility can be accepted by us for loss occasioned to any person acting or refraining from acting as a result of any material in this publication.
In this edition of our policy brief, we provide an update of some key regulatory and policy changes under way or anticipated in coming months in relation to the newly released digital agenda, to the on-going implementation of the energy strategy, to financial services, and to taxation.
Learn about the latest policy developments with this monthly alert from our team in Brussels. For real-time updates, follow @MSL_Brussels or reach out to us on Twitter @msl_group.
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The most significant changes to insurance law in 110 years came into effect in August 2016. The Insurance Act 2015 makes some fundamental changes to what businesses have to do to ensure that their insurance policies are effective and that their claims are paid in full. This webinar looks at the changes that have been made, what businesses need to do in order to comply with new rules on disclosure and how the new remedies for breach are to be applied. The Act applies to all policies governed by the laws of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland which are taken out, renewed or varied on or after 12 August 2016. Accordingly, it is essential that all UK businesses have a full understanding of the new rules.
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How can we help?
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Eversheds’ restructuring and insolvency practice
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Here's a breakdown of the key aspects of winding up:
Reasons for Winding Up:
Insolvency: This is the most common reason, where the company cannot pay its debts. Creditors may initiate a compulsory winding up to recover their dues.
Voluntary Closure: The owners may decide to close the company due to reasons like reaching business goals, facing losses, or merging with another company.
Deadlock: If shareholders or directors cannot agree on how to run the company, a court may order a winding up.
Types of Winding Up:
Voluntary Winding Up: This is initiated by the company's shareholders through a resolution passed by a majority vote. There are two main types:
Members' Voluntary Winding Up: The company is solvent (has enough assets to pay off its debts) and shareholders will receive any remaining assets after debts are settled.
Creditors' Voluntary Winding Up: The company is insolvent and creditors will be prioritized in receiving payment from the sale of assets.
Compulsory Winding Up: This is initiated by a court order, typically at the request of creditors, government agencies, or even by the company itself if it's insolvent.
Process of Winding Up:
Appointment of Liquidator: A qualified professional is appointed to oversee the winding-up process. They are responsible for selling assets, paying off debts, and distributing any remaining funds.
Cease Trading: The company stops its regular business operations.
Notification of Creditors: Creditors are informed about the winding up and invited to submit their claims.
Sale of Assets: The company's assets are sold to generate cash to pay off creditors.
Payment of Debts: Creditors are paid according to a set order of priority, with secured creditors receiving payment before unsecured creditors.
Distribution to Shareholders: If there are any remaining funds after all debts are settled, they are distributed to shareholders according to their ownership stake.
Dissolution: Once all claims are settled and distributions made, the company is officially dissolved and removed from the business register.
Impact of Winding Up:
Employees: Employees will likely lose their jobs during the winding-up process.
Creditors: Creditors may not recover their debts in full, especially if the company is insolvent.
Shareholders: Shareholders may not receive any payout if the company's debts exceed its assets.
Winding up is a complex legal and financial process that can have significant consequences for all parties involved. It's important to seek professional legal and financial advice when considering winding up a company.
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4. Eversheds LLP | 12/08/2015 |
• EU State aid – A brief introduction
• Tax State aid investigations – The wider context
• Tax rulings investigations
• The European Commission's case
• Arguments against the European Commission's case
• Where next and how do you protect your position?
• Opportunities?
• Brexit and State aid
• Questions
Overview
6. State aid – A brief introduction
• What are the EU State aid rules all about?
• Why do we need State aid rules?
• Who decides whether State aid is legal?
• What are the key procedural requirements?
• What if State aid has been granted in breach of EU law
requirements?
7. State aid – A brief introduction
Article 107(1) Treaty on the Functioning of the EU
• Save as otherwise provided in the Treaties, any aid
granted by a Member State or through State resources in
any form whatsoever which distorts or threatens to distort
competition by favouring certain undertakings or the
production of certain goods shall, in so far as it affects
trade between Member States, be incompatible with the
internal market.
8. State aid – A brief introduction
EU State aid rules generally prohibit State aid:
• Granted through State resources in any form
• Confers a selective advantage on undertaking(s)
• Can distort competition
• Affects trade between EU Member States
9. State aid – A brief introduction
• Why is State aid generally prohibited?
• Distortion of competition in the single market – inefficient
suppliers kept afloat at the expense of more efficient competitors,
innovation suffers
• Risk of subsidies race between Member States
• But not all State aid is prohibited
• EU law recognises that certain common/wider goals justify
accepting a certain degree of competition distortion (which arises
as a result of the grant of State aid) so as to ensure that these
goals are attained
10. State aid – A brief introduction
• On what grounds will State aid be justified?
• Article 107(2) – e.g. aid:
• having social character granted to individual consumers;
• to make good damage caused by natural disasters
• On what grounds might State aid be justified?
• Article 107(3) – e.g. aid:
• aid to promote the execution of an important project of
common European interest or
• to remedy a serious disturbance in the economy of a
Member State;
• to facilitate the development of certain economic
activities or of certain economic areas, where such aid
does not adversely affect trading conditions to an extent
contrary to the common interest;
11. State aid – A brief introduction
• Who decides whether State aid is compatible with EU law
requirements and how?
• European Commission
• “Notification before implementation” requirement
• Preliminary investigation
• In-depth investigation
• Exemptions from notification if certain conditions met
• GBER
• De minimis
• Commission decisions appealable to EU Courts (for
manifest error or failure to follow due process)
12. State aid – A brief introduction
• Commission investigations
• Preliminary investigation (up to 2 months), may lead to
decision that:
• there is no aid
• there is aid but it is compatible with EU rules
• there is aid and the Commission has serious doubts as to the
compatibility of the measure with EU rules (and so it will open an
in-depth investigation)
• Formal (in-depth) investigation (may take up to 18 months
sometimes longer):
• EU countries and interested parties invited to submit comments
• EU country concerned invited to respond to those comments
• may lead to:
• positive decision
• conditional decision
• negative decision
13. State aid – A brief introduction
• What if State aid has been granted without notification?
• European Commission investigation
• How would the Commission find out?
• Information publicly available
• Complaints
• What if Commission concludes that State measure is State aid
which cannot be justified under EU rules?
• Normally State aid must be recovered (with interest)
• Commission can investigate aid and require its recovery up to
10 years from its grant
15. The wider context
• On what basis can tax arrangements constitute State aid?
• Recent tax rulings and the European Commission's position
• The wider political context – Brexit and all that
16. The wider context
• On what basis can tax arrangements constitute State aid?
• When it involves the State foregoing income which it otherwise would
have had, as a result of applying (or dis-applying) a tax measure to
certain type of companies only (i.e. selectively)
• this would be the case, for example, when the State makes an
exemption to the tax rules that would otherwise have applied, in
favour of certain type of companies only
• this then leads to a reduction to the State budget (and the income
which the State would otherwise have received amounts to the use
of “state resources” for EU State aid law purposes)
• it might be possible to justify such “deviation” from the otherwise
applicable tax rules. If this is not possible, then the tax
arrangement would be problematic for EU State aid rules purposes
17. The wider context
• On what basis can a tax ruling constitute State aid?
• Key issue: transfer prices (the prices set for the provision of goods or
services by one group company to another)
• Commission considers that tax rulings are in principle legal but not if
they are based on transfer prices which do not reflect economic reality
in that they endorse artificial and complex methods to establish taxable
profits for companies
• In those circumstances the Commission considers that a tax ruling
confers unfair competitive advantage over other companies (typically
SMEs) that are taxed on their actual profits because they pay market
prices for the goods and services they use
18. The wider context
June 2013 Commission commences investigation into the tax rulings practices of
seven Member States (including the UK)
June 2014 Commission opens in-depth investigation into transfer pricing
arrangements on corporate taxation of Apple (Ireland) Starbucks
(Netherlands) and Fiat Finance and Trade (Luxembourg)
October 2014 Commission opens in-depth investigation into transfer pricing
arrangements on corporate taxation of Amazon
November 2014 LuxLeaks
December 2014 Commission extends information enquiry on tax rulings practices between
2010 – 2013 to all Member States
February 2015 Commission opens in-depth investigation into the Belgian “excess profit”
tax scheme
October 2015 Commission announces decisions on Fiat and Starbucks cases
December 2015 Commission opens in-depth investigation into Luxembourg's tax
treatment of McDonald's
January 2016 Commission announces decision on Belgian “excess profit” tax scheme
19. The wider context
August 2016 Commission announces decision on Apple case finding that Ireland gave
illegal tax benefits to Apple worth up to €13 billion
September 2016 Commission opens an investigation into Luxembourg’s tax arrangements
with Engie, the French utility
November 2016 Ireland launches an appeal against the Commission’s Apple decision
Currently Amazon and McDonald’s investigations still ongoing
20. The wider context
“The Commission is looking at the compliance with EU state aid
rules of certain tax practices in some Member States in the context
of aggressive tax planning by multinationals, with a view to ensure
a level playing field. A number of multinational companies are
using tax planning strategies to reduce their global tax burden, by
taking advantage of the technicalities of tax systems, and
substantially reducing their tax liabilities. This aggressive tax
planning practice erodes the tax bases of Member States, which
are already financially constrained”
Commission press release, June 2014
21. The wider context
"In the current context of tight public budgets, it is particularly
important that large multinationals pay their fair share of taxes.
Under the EU's state aid rules, national authorities cannot take
measures allowing certain companies to pay less tax than they
should if the tax rules of the Member State were applied in a fair
and non-discriminatory way.” (Joaquín Almunia, Commission Vice
President in charge of competition policy at the time, June 2014)
"Fair tax competition is essential for the integrity of the Single
Market, for the fiscal sustainability of our Member States, and for a
level-playing field between our businesses. Our social and
economic model relies on it, so we must do all we can to defend
it.” (Algirdas Šemeta, Commissioner for Taxation at the time, June
2014)
22. The wider context
“Tackling potential distortions of competition through selective tax
advantages is another area where I will maintain our efforts.
Unlawful reductions of the tax burden for selected companies harm
not only competitors in the market, but also every taxpayer… All
our efforts converge on meeting the ultimate objective of
competition policy: making markets function better for the benefit
of the European consumers – both households and businesses.”
Margrethe Vestager, Commissioner for Competition (Forward to the
Annual Competition Report 2014)
23. The wider context
• National corporation tax rates (whether low or not) do not give
rise to any State aid law issues
• Brexit and all that
25. Why tax rulings?
• What are tax rulings?
• Why are tax rulings being targeted?
• “perfectly legal” and acceptable UNLESS results in lower
taxation than for other similar entities in similar circumstances
• Selective treatment
26. Why tax rulings?
• Examples:
• significant discretion exercised by tax authority
• ruling not available to similar entities
• “favourable” discretionary tax treatment
• contradicts applicable tax treatment
27. Targeting transfer pricing rulings
• Investigations have initially targeted transfer pricing rulings
• Starbucks
• Fiat
• Amazon
• Apple
• “arm’s length principle under EU state aid rules”
34. Widening investigations
• But are these investigations justifiable and what are the
defences?
• Selectivity not proven – no comparable circumstances
• No EU arm’s length principle
• No proof of advantage
• Legal certainty
36. Where next and how do you protect your
position?
• What does all this mean for business?
• What does this mean for tax settlements with EU tax
authorities?
• Can business actually rely on tax rulings?
• Can businesses ensure that any ruling is state aid compliant?
• Should businesses get an indemnity from buyers when selling?
40. Brexit and State aid
• Will some form of State aid regulation continue to apply in the
UK post-Brexit?
• Three main possibilities:
• UK continues to comply with WTO anti-subsidy rules (but not
EU state aid rules)
• New post-Brexit arrangements with the EU provide for
continued compliance with EU State aid rules in relation to
all or certain specific sectors
• Post-Brexit the UK implements a national State aid system
similar to that which applies in the EU, CMA becomes State
aid regulator
• Government’s intention to introduce of Great Repeal Bill