The European Parliament’s Economics and Monetary Affairs Committee recently approved several measures to make it easier for businesses that have been taxed by two member states to resolve their disputes.
The measures include placing stricter deadlines on member states for the resolutions of such disputes and putting an arbitration procedure in place for determining disputes, according to a release. Further, the committee approved the creation of an advisory panel that would be able to issue binding opinions. The measures were approved by a vote of 41-1, with one in abstention.
The European Commission estimates that there are currently approximately 900 such disputes within the European Union, tied to more than $11.7 billion. These issues arise due to discrepancies between Member State tax systems.
“These proposals are a big step towards solving the problem of double taxation, which inhibits the proper functioning of the single market,” MEP Michael Theurer of Germany said in a press release. “But the Economics Committee wants to give national authorities added incentives to act quickly and move to resolution. The draft report calls for shorter deadlines and for no sanctions to be imposed on the taxpayer until a binding decision is reached.”
