Corporate tax avoidance : A question of morality that could be criminalized
Terje, Sara (2017)
Terje, Sara
Metropolia Ammattikorkeakoulu
2017
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017092115292
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017092115292
Tiivistelmä
The aim of this thesis is to research whether tax avoidance could be made illegal at an EU level and if so to what extent. The thesis will cover the main tax avoidance strategies and take a closer look at what measures EU has taken in the field of combatting tax avoidance.
Corporate tax avoidance is a heavily debated topic with increasing importance. The difficulty with tax avoidance is that the line between when tax avoidance is unacceptable and when it is acceptable is very subjective. Corporate tax avoidance is an issue that lately has raised into peoples’ concern after big corporations such as Apple’s, AstraZeneca’s and Google’s tax avoidance strategies came viral.
Regulation corporate tax avoidance within the European Union is a very difficult task. The EU has limited competence in the field of direct taxation and it is up to the Member States themselves to regulate the field as long as it is compatible with EU legislation. For this reason, it is nearly impossible for the European Union to regulate tax avoidance being illegal.
Corporate social responsibility plays an important role in preventing tax avoidance strategies from being utilized. Todays’ social media spread the information about corporations trying to avoid taxes very quickly which may in turn reduce the profitability of the company in case the customers sees this as an important factor.
At an EU level the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive passed in mid 2016 is however a great step towards regulating tax avoidance at EU level. Only the future will tell how big impact it actually has on corporate tax avoidance.
Corporate tax avoidance is a heavily debated topic with increasing importance. The difficulty with tax avoidance is that the line between when tax avoidance is unacceptable and when it is acceptable is very subjective. Corporate tax avoidance is an issue that lately has raised into peoples’ concern after big corporations such as Apple’s, AstraZeneca’s and Google’s tax avoidance strategies came viral.
Regulation corporate tax avoidance within the European Union is a very difficult task. The EU has limited competence in the field of direct taxation and it is up to the Member States themselves to regulate the field as long as it is compatible with EU legislation. For this reason, it is nearly impossible for the European Union to regulate tax avoidance being illegal.
Corporate social responsibility plays an important role in preventing tax avoidance strategies from being utilized. Todays’ social media spread the information about corporations trying to avoid taxes very quickly which may in turn reduce the profitability of the company in case the customers sees this as an important factor.
At an EU level the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive passed in mid 2016 is however a great step towards regulating tax avoidance at EU level. Only the future will tell how big impact it actually has on corporate tax avoidance.