European plan to unify corporate tax rules and recoup billions faces steep hurdles ahead

The European Commission proposed to revamp the bloc’s tax system and introduce a single corporate taxation rulebook this week that would stop European governments from competing with each other to attract business investments by lowering tax rates.

The new proposal, the third the commission has put forward in the past 10 years, called for a unified way to tax corporations where they generate income rather than where they set up their headquarters ー which is often in a low tax rate jurisdiction.

“Our tax rules should support an inclusive recovery, be transparent and close the door on tax avoidance,” trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis said in a statement.
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