by Irene Isabel das Neves, Associate Judge, President of the Administrative and Fiscal Courts of the Northern Area (Portugal)

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In the field of direct taxation, European law lacks concrete regulation, which leads to a lack of tax harmonisation, as opposed to indirect taxation, namely with the Value Added Tax (VAT) and Excise Duties (ED). However, several directives and the case law of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) itself are establishing a set of “harmonising” dynamics enforced at the level of direct taxation on the income of companies and individuals. In parallel, measures have been implemented to prevent and eliminate tax evasion and double taxation.

The proper functioning of a European internal market assumes a level playing field, i.e., it depends on tax neutrality arising from the standardisation of corporate taxes. The internal market is in fact the meeting point for European demand and supply: in this market, tax disparities disrupt trade and commerce, because even when similar products are involved, the most heavily taxed goods are less competitive and less attractive to consumers (distortion by demand); similarly, in the absence of uniformity of taxes, the choice of location of businesses within the Union may be linked to tax considerations (distortion by supply).
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