The notion of tax and the elimination of double taxation or double non-taxation - EU Report

This report deals with the concept of tax in the EU analysing the provisions of the treaties and directives that take into consideration the concepts of double taxation and double non-taxation. The results of this analysis clarify a notion of tax which varies from time to time.The concept of tax in EU law has its origin in the same concept drawn up in the Member States’ legal traditions, especially in Member States that signed the Treaty establishing the Economic European Community in 1957. This concept has been further adapted to the scope and objectives of EU law, which are quite different from the domestic law of the Member States. In the light of these objectives, the purpose of EU rules regarding taxation is aimed at avoiding both double taxation and double non-taxation in transactions between different Member States.