The Report Ways to Tackle Cross-Border Obstacles Facing Individuals Within the EU

Abstract

In 2015 the Expert Group of the European Commission published a report identifying various procedural and substantive tax obstacles that individuals face when operating across borders in the internal market. Regarding the identified tax obstacles, the Expert Group proposes both hard and soft law solutions which would require legislative cooperation of the Member States as the focus has been on those obstacles that cannot be tackled by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) as they qualify as disparities or justified restrictions on the fundamental freedoms. In this article the authors discuss the various substantive tax obstacles and the proposed solutions. The authors subscribe to the view of the Expert Group that harmonization of direct taxation for individuals would be beneficial for enhancing the internal market. Regarding the way in which harmonization can be achieved, the authors would prefer a directive or multilateral treaty including a one-stop-shop.