Le premier but de cette thèse de doctorat est d’analyser les aspects internationaux de la fiscalité directe des entreprises dans les pays baltes en comparant les règles des pays baltes avec les propositions de l’OCDE, les exigences du droit communautaire ainsi qu’avec les règles des autres pays européens. On analyse si les systèmes de fiscalité directe des pays baltes, qui sont relativement jeunes et n’ont pas de longues traditions, sont compatibles d’un côté avec les standards de la fiscalité internationale des pays membres de l’OCDE et, d’un autre côté, avec les exigences du droit de l’Union Européenne. Le deuxième but de la thèse est de proposer des conseils et recommandations, sur la façon dont la régulation fiscale nationale, européenne et communautaire pourrait être améliorée. A la fin de chaque chapitre ainsi qu’à la fin de chaque grande partie et à la fin de cette thèse, on présente les conseils et les recommandations. La première partie analyse les aspects internationaux de la fiscalité directe des revenus de l’activité des entreprises. La deuxième partie examine les règles concernant la fiscalité des revenus passifs (dividendes, intérêts et redevances). Dans la troisième partie on analyse les principes du droit fiscal des pays baltes concernant la lutte contre les paradis fiscaux ainsi que les principes de la coopération internationale entre les administrations fiscales. / The first objective of this doctoral thesis is to analyze the international aspects of taxation of companies in the Baltic States. The research compares the rules of tax law in the Baltic countries with the OECD proposals and recommendations, EU law requirements as well as with analogical rules in other European countries. It analyzes whether rules of direct taxation of companies in the Baltic countries, which are relatively young and do not have long traditions, follow the international standards proposed by the OECD as well, whether these rules are compatible with EU law requirements and analogical rules of other European states. The second goal of this thesis is to provide advice and recommendations on how national tax law and the provisions of EU law could be improved. Advice and recommendations are being presented at the end of each chapter, then at the end of each major part and finally, at the end of whole thesis. The first part analyses the international aspects of direct taxation of income from business activity. The second part devoted to examining the rules regarding the taxation of passive income (dividends, interest and royalties). Finally, the third part analyses the principles of tax law in the Baltic countries concerning tax havens and the international cooperation between tax administrations.

Efter ett 10 årigt arbete mot att harmonisera direkt beskattning inom EU har Kommissionen lagt fram ett förslag till direktiv avseende en gemensam konsoliderad bolagsskattebas (CCCTB). Syftet med förslaget är att företag som bedriver gränsöverskridande verksamhet endast ska behöva följa en regeluppsättning samt arbeta gentemot en skattemyndighet. Tanken är att resultaten från alla koncernens bolag inom EU slås samman och sedan portioneras ut till koncernföretagen genom en fördelningsnyckel. Kommissionen har angivit att konsolideringen ska medföra att medlemsstaterna kan konkurrera på lika villkor och att fördelningen av skattebasen ska ske rättvist mellan medlemsstaterna. Det finns medlemsstater som är osäkra på förslagets konsekvenser och medlemsstaternas konkurrensmöjligheter efter förslagets antagande. Därav, är syftet med uppsatsen att utreda om fördelningsnyckeln i förslaget medför att skattebasen fördelas rättvist mellan medlemsstaterna genom att medlemsstaterna har möjlighet att konkurrera på lika villkor på den inre marknaden. Fördelningsnyckeln består av tre komponenter; arbetskraft, tillgångar och försäljning. Den gemensamma skattebasen portioneras ut till företagen i relation till företagets andel av koncernens totala andel av komponenterna. Därefter har medlemsstaterna rätt att beskatta andelen tillhörande företagen etablerade i medlemsstaten med den nationella skattesatsen. Uppsatsen innehåller en analys avseende de beståndsdelarna i fördelningsnyckelns komponenter som kan tänkas påverka medlemsstaternas möjlighet att konkurrera på lika villkor. Uppsatsen diskuterar hur beståndsdelarna påvekar konkurrensen samt i vissa fall ges förslag på förändringar som kan leda till att komponenten medför att medlemsstaterna kan konkurrera på lika villkor och därmed erhålla en rättvis fördelning av skattebasen. / After 10 years of work towards harmonization of direct taxation within EU the Commission has proposed a directive on a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB). The aim of the proposal is that companies who engage in cross-border activities only need to comply with one set of rules and work towards one tax authority. The idea is that the result from all companies inside EU within the group should be pooled and then portioned out to the individual companies through an allocation formula. The Commission has stated that the consolidation shall result in that member states can compete on equal terms and that the tax base is apportioned fairly between the member states. However, there are member states that are doubtful of the consequences of the proposal and the member states competitive opportunities after the adoption. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to examine if the allocation formula in the proposal result in that the tax base are apportioned fairly between the member states through the member states possibility to compete on equal terms within the internal market. The formula for apportionment consist of three components; labor, assets and sales. The common tax base will be portioned out to the companies in relation to the share of the company compared to the total share of the group of each component. Then, the member states have the right to tax the share that belongs to the companies that are established within the member state with the national tax rate. The thesis contains an analysis of the elements in the components of the allocation formula that could affect the opportunity of the member states to compete on equal terms. The thesis discusses how the elements affect the competition and in certain cases suggestions of changes in the elements are given that could lead to that the component result in that the member states can compete on equal terms and thereby hold a fair share of the tax base.

The scope of this work is analysing how economic policies chosen by governments are influenced by the power of social groups. The core idea is taken from the single-mindedness theory, which states that preferences of groups and their ability to focus on the consumption of goods enable them to obtain the most favourable policies. This approach exploits the advantages of probabilistic voting theory, ability to manage the multidiemnsionality and possibility to study precisely how politicians tailor their policies to groups' features. Unlike classic probabilistic voting models, my theory assumes that the density function which captures the distribution of political preferences depends on consumption of goods and preferences of individuals. The higher the consumption of goods, the higher the density, the higher the political power. This mechanism is better explained by considering the role played by "swing voters". Since they are pivotal to changing the equilibrium, candidates must favour them because they realise that even a small change in policy could force them to vote for the other candidate, Thus, the lower the loyalty of voters for parties, the higher the benefit they obtain. As a consequence, these voters are better off and represent the winners of the political process.

The role of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the process of direct tax integration in the European Union (EU) has been widely discussed in the academic literature, while another important actor, the European Commission, has attracted much less attention. The Commission’s input is commonly perceived to be limited to the right of legislative initiative. This study questions such an oversimplified interpretation and draws a more nuanced picture of EU tax harmonisation by integrating an analysis of the complex regulatory approaches adopted by the Commission for the establishment and smooth functioning of the Internal Market. It is argued that the past decade brought a notable change in the Court-dominated pattern of direct tax integration. This change is apparent first in the evolution of enforcement strategies under Articles 258 and 260 TFEU; and second, in the increased reliance upon non-binding regulatory measures. Both developments have strengthened the role of the Commission, supplying it with more possibilities for influencing national direct tax systems, despite the reluctance of Member States to agree upon legislative harmonisation. Against this background, the procedural and substantive problems associated with these instruments require closer examination. The normative scope of this research covers the key procedural problems related to the infringement procedure and non-binding regulatory measures. The empirical component explores the Commission’s enforcement and coordination practices, drawing particular attention to two case studies: the tax treatment of losses in cross-border situations and exit taxation. Following the analysis of enforcement and coordination in the field of direct taxation, the study argues the need and proposes potential solutions for (i) the developing of a more comprehensive procedural framework for the infringement procedure and non-binding regulatory acts; (ii) the strengthening of accountability mechanisms; and (iii) the enhancing of the effectiveness of their application.