The European Union was devised to promote competition in the international market environment and ensure balanced allocation of fiscal and political requirements of the Member States. Globalization has led to enabling tax environments through granting of tax benefits by EU Member jurisdictions intended to promote competition in attracting foreign investment, trade, and development. Multinational Corporations may often exploit these tax benefits through various tax arrangement provisions causing a loss of tax revenue. The European Commission is implored to oversee the tax ruling granted by the Member States that is distortionary to the internal market. The Notion of State aid rule Article 107(1) TFEU is adopted as part of the mechanism to combat distortions that leads to tax evasion and harmful tax competition.  This research is intended to analyse the Commission and the General Court’s approach to demonstrate illegal or unlawful State aid through varied and adaptive methodology to tackle emerging complex tax arrangements provisions of Multinational Corporations, notably the Amazon and Engie recent cases. This paper also discusses the identification of potential conflict of laws between the relevant general system of legal rule of the domestic tax legislation and EU Law. Specifically with regards to the determination of whether a tax benefit confers a tax advantage and subsequently if that advantage is deemed selective in nature in a transfer of financial asset undertaking under a certain domestic law. The dynamics of potential abuse of law and aid recovery with the general tax principle of Legality will also be explored.

Submitted by Roberto Codorniz Leite Pereira (roberto.leite@gvmail.br) on 2012-10-23T03:02:33Z No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Mestrado_Versão Protocolo Final.pdf: 2294195 bytes, checksum: 98015b777bb51eeb39cc03871fc8faf4 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Suzinei Teles Garcia Garcia (suzinei.garcia@fgv.br) on 2012-10-23T11:38:44Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Mestrado_Versão Protocolo Final.pdf: 2294195 bytes, checksum: 98015b777bb51eeb39cc03871fc8faf4 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2012-10-23T12:01:56Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Dissertação de Mestrado_Versão Protocolo Final.pdf: 2294195 bytes, checksum: 98015b777bb51eeb39cc03871fc8faf4 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-09-21 / O presente trabalho é o resultado de uma pesquisa empírica que buscou reconstruir toda a trajetória percorrida pela política pública que orienta o atual regime de tributação de lucros auferidos no exterior por controladas e coligadas de empresas brasileiras com o objetivo de compreender as razões que levaram o Brasil a adotar uma norma de antidiferimento demasiadamente ampla, quando comparada às normas de natureza similar adotadas na experiência internacional. Além disso, buscamos identificar a real extensão dos efeitos econômicos ensejados pelo regime brasileiro, em especial, frente ao processo de internacionalização produtiva que vem se fazendo cada vez mais presente na realidade de diversas empresas de capital nacional. Partimos da hipótese de que o regime vigente afeta negativamente às empresas que buscam internacionalizar parte da sua atividade produtiva. Os resultados da pesquisa são de grande importância e nos ajudaram a compreender melhor as causas de muitas das questões jurídicas que atualmente ocupam grande parte do debate acadêmico no direito tributário brasileiro. Defendemos a ideia de que, se os efeitos do regime brasileiro afetam negativamente a internacionalização produtiva, o regime poderá afrontar a Ordem Econômica Constitucional. / This thesis presents the conclusions of an empirical legal research that remade the path followed by the public policy adopted by Brazilian government to tax corporate foreign income in order to understand precisely the reasons that led Brazil to adopt an antideferral rule that is broader that the Controlled Foreign Company (CFC) rules adopted world wide. Besides, our objective was also to identify the economic effects on Brazilian transnational companies arising from Brazilian CFC rules, regarding the increasing internationalization process that Brazilian firms are making through in the past decade. We adopted the hypothesis that Brazilian tax regime affects negatively transnational companies that aim to internationalize part of their production. The outcomes of the present research are of a great value to achieve a better understanding about the causes of many legal questions that are currently being discussed among legal practitioners and scholars and faced by courts. Our opinion is that, if the economic effects arising from Brazilian tax regime affects the internationalization process of Brazilian firms, that may go against, in certain cases, the economic order settled by our Constitution.

La société holding est une réalité économique dont l’importance ne cesse d’augmenter. Plusieurs États offrent des régimes de faveurs fiscales pour attirer les holdings sur leurs territoires. Le système fiscal turc n’offre pas un tel «régime holding» mais il comporte plusieurs dispositions qui offrent certains avantages aux participations turques et étrangères. Une fiscalité avantageuse pour les holdings est intéressante pour un État dans la mesure où elle lui permet d’attirer les entreprises. Les dispositions fiscales peuvent rendre un territoire attractif et compétitif mais elles peuvent inciter une évasion fiscale à l’intérieur même du territoire. Le second risque engendré par le régime fiscal avantageux est l’établissement d’une concurrence fiscale déloyale. Les éléments clés d’une fiscalité idéale pour la société holding prennent en compte, d’une part la distribution des bénéfices de la holding, et d’autre part, les bénéfices provenant de ses propres participations, notamment les dividendes provenant de ses filiales et les plus-values de cession de ces participations. Par ailleurs, le régime fiscal holding doit être attractif et compétitif tout en restant compatible avec les principes reconnus du droit fiscal international. / The holding company is an economic reality whose importance is still increasing. Several countries offer tax benefits plans to attract holdings in their territories. The Turkish tax system does not offer such a "holding plan" but it contains several provisions that provide certain benefits to Turkish and foreign investments. Tax advantages for holding companies are important for the State to the extent that it attracts businesses and group companies. The tax provisions can make an attractive and competitive territory, yet they may increase tax evasion within the same territory. Another risk caused by the advantageous tax regime is harmful tax competition. The key elements of an ideal tax system of holding companies are about, first of all, the distribution of profits of the holding company and secondly, income from its own shares, including dividends from its subsidiaries and the capital gains disposal of their shares. Furthermore, the holding company tax system must be both competitive and attractive and at the same time it must be compatible with the principles acknowledged by international tax law.

This work entails a study of some of the schemes that are employed by country residents when companies and trusts are used as vehicles for investing in offshore tax-haven and low tax jurisdictions so as to avoid taxes. The study also entails a critical analysis of the effectiveness of the some of the laws in South Africa that curb such offshore tax avoidance schemes. Similar laws in the United Kingdom and in the United States are analysed in order to come up with some recommendations that could be considered for possible reform of the relevant South African laws where they are found wanting. Since offshore tax avoidance is an international issue, the effectiveness of the recommendations of some international organisations in preventing the depletion of countries' tax bases are also analysed. / JURISPRUDENCE / LLD

This work entails a study of some of the schemes that are employed by country residents when companies and trusts are used as vehicles for investing in offshore tax-haven and low tax jurisdictions so as to avoid taxes. The study also entails a critical analysis of the effectiveness of the some of the laws in South Africa that curb such offshore tax avoidance schemes. Similar laws in the United Kingdom and in the United States are analysed in order to come up with some recommendations that could be considered for possible reform of the relevant South African laws where they are found wanting. Since offshore tax avoidance is an international issue, the effectiveness of the recommendations of some international organisations in preventing the depletion of countries' tax bases are also analysed. / JURISPRUDENCE / LLD