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By Antoine KREMER, ABBL ALFI Head of European Affairs
Taxation has traditionally been considered a delicate matter as it is closely linked to EU Member States’ sovereignty and even more importantly the income side of their budgets i.e. their means of action. Therefore the EU Treaties provide for decisions by unanimity among Member States when it comes to tax matters. Contrary to the vast majority of primary legislation, the European Parliament has no co-decision power but delivers a non-binding opinion.
As long as unanimity reigns, no tax legislation can be forced on any single Member State that disagrees. That has been the idea from the start and in truth it is not a simple detail that only gets EU nerds excited. It has far reaching...
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