An analysis of the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive

Abstract

The practice of tax avoidance through base erosion and profit shifting, has found an opponent in the European Union’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive, the focal point of this work. The work shall analyse in depth, the entirety of this Directive, by scrutinising in detail the Directives’ measures against tax avoidance. Moreover, the purpose of the work is to foster a better understanding of the Directives’ rules, by analysing the choice of terminology adopted, whilst also considering, critically, the legislative choices provided to the Member State’s in opting for select rules that would lessen any undesirable effects on their respective jurisdictions. Additionally, the work looks at the Directives’ compatibility with the judgements of the Court of Justice of the European Union. The work also takes into consideration the transposition of the Directive into the Maltese legislative framework, taking note of both the positive and negative aspects of the transposition, whilst simultaneously juxtaposing the Maltese legislator’s implementation with the implementation carried out by other Member States, namely Ireland, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, whose legislative tax frameworks offer advantages comparable to the Maltese tax jurisdiction. The work addresses further the Directives impact on businesses and commercial activities, to better highlight its effects.