The Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive and its Compatibility with Primary EU Law (Competence: Subsidiarity and Proportionality)

Abstract: The EU has adopted to the anti-tax avoidance package to implement the OECD action plan on Base Erosion Profit Shifting. The Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) is a legislative element e of anti-tax avoidance package proposed by the Commission. The Directive stipulates anti-abusive rules and is designed to protect functioning of the internal market. The ATAD and its implementation has raised number of legal questions under the complex labyrinth of the EU legal framework. This paper aims to determine the compatibility of the ATAD with regards to the competence-related requirements of the Primary EU Law and intends to investigate whether the EU institutions have followed principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality when they adopted the ATAD.