On 21 September, the G20 finance ministers endorsed a package of measures to tackle corporate tax avoidance. The step was immediately welcomed by the EC. Commissioner Šemeta called it an important step towards a fairer corporate tax environment worldwide. The measures go in line with the OECD Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting. They include steps against aggressive tax planning, such as hybrid mismatch arrangements, tax treaty abuses and revisions to international transfer pricing rules. Further issues, such as harmful tax practices linked to Intellectual Property regimes (e.g. Patent Boxes) and tax rulings, will be tackled in the year to come. Further discussions will continue on the taxation of the digital economy.

The EU took some steps to avoid corporate tax avoidance in the past months. These include the new Parent-Subsidiary Directive, which should stop multinational corporations from using loopholes in national tax laws to avoid paying corporate taxes. The EC established also a High Level Expert Group to discuss taxing the digital economy. Harmful corporate tax regimes in individual Member States are also part of competition investigation by the EC.

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