Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base
EU.
The Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) is a European Commission proposal (16 March 2011).
CCCTB would be a single set of rules for calculating taxable profits to replace the current different, national rules in each Member State. Companies or qualifying groups of companies operating within the EU would use the rules to calculate their taxable profits and losses and file a single consolidated tax return for the whole of their EU activity. The calculated taxable profits would be shared among Member States on a formula, perhaps related in certain proportions to turnover, wage bill, number of employees, physical capital and such. Each Member State would then collect tax at its own rate on its portion.
A purpose of the common tax base would be to make tax competition among Member States more transparent.
Critics of harmonisation see base differences as socially useful competition among Member States allowing States differently to influence behaviour of companies as well as tax revenue. Such critics tend to value also competition on rates - both encouraging governments to be more efficient. Supporters see base differences (and often rate differences too) as distortions encouraging damaging corporate arbitrage between jurisdictions.
At Autumn 2014, no agreement had been reached on tax base harmonisation. Supporters continued to argue the case, especially before their domestic electorates. Supporters also sometimes introduction of a common tax base among a coalition of willing Member States (enhanced co-operation) if agreement among all Member States is not forthcoming. French President François Hollande said in January 2014 that he wanted "harmonisation with our largest neighbours" by 2020, for example.
See also
- European Commission web page on the Common Tax Base http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/company_tax/common_tax_base/index_en.htm
