argomento: News del mese - Diritto Internazionale e Comunitario

Articoli Correlati: E.U. - shell company - substance test

On 22 December 2021, the European Commission presented a proposal for a directive to combat the misuse of shell companies for tax purposes. This is because more and more companies and individuals abuse shell companies for aggressive tax planning or to evade the tax authorities. The Commission itself has estimated that in the E.U. tax avoidance amounts to between 35 and 70 billion euros of tax revenue lost per year, of which about 23 billion due to the improper use of shell companies. The proposal, therefore, through the “substance test” and specific provisions on the automatic exchange of information and requests for tax audits between competent authorities of different Member States, aims to ensure that letterbox companies cannot benefit from tax breaks. Once adopted by the Member States, the proposal is expected to enter into force on 1 January 2024.