歐盟2022年度稅收政策展望：雙支柱方案立法、行為準則組織改革等

轉(zhuǎn)讓定價人 2022-01-17 00:00

編譯整理：思邁特財稅國際稅收服務團隊

2022年度歐盟稅收政策議程將會十分繁忙，其主要議程包括雙支柱方案立法、行為準則組織改革、環(huán)境稅收等，其中，將“全球最低稅”寫入歐盟法律，可能將在歐盟稅收歷史上產(chǎn)生最深刻的影響；此外，歐盟還計劃對行為準則組織（Code of Conduct Group）進行改革，以更好地評估歐盟內(nèi)外各轄區(qū)的稅收政策；與此同時，德國新政府還希望利用稅收體系來促進綠色投資。

雙支柱方案立法

2022年度，歐盟委員會的主要任務將是根據(jù)OECD的“支柱二立法模板”實施全球最低稅。值得注意的是，2021年12月22日，歐盟委員會已發(fā)布實施支柱二最低稅指令草案（參見tpperson微信公眾號的往期推文：《歐盟委員會發(fā)布實施支柱二最低稅指令草案》）。

該草案與OECD的全球協(xié)議是大體一致的，以此來確?？鐕髽I(yè)在歐盟法律下受到平等對待。歐盟財長將在本月開始對該草案進行立法討論，歐盟委員會則希望該草案能在2022年度上半年獲得一致同意。屆時，法國將是歐盟輪值主席國，其也希望該草案能在春季前獲得一致同意，這樣就能給各國留出足夠的時間在各自國家的議會中轉(zhuǎn)化為國內(nèi)法。此外，稅務專業(yè)人士也在關(guān)注實施最低稅的技術(shù)細節(jié)，這將給企業(yè)的稅務遵從帶來重大變化。

就落地時間而言，支柱一將比支柱二滯后。支柱一旨在賦予數(shù)字服務市場所在的轄區(qū)獲得更多征稅權(quán)。根據(jù)歐盟委員會的最新議程安排，支柱一的實施草案將會在2022年7月27日發(fā)布。OECD希望全球最低稅及支柱一能在2023年實施，一些專家和從業(yè)者則認為該時間表過于樂觀，“我已經(jīng)圍繞國際稅務政策工作25年了，這是我見過最復雜的一套規(guī)則”，一位從業(yè)者這樣說道。

2021年，歐盟取消了能增加自身稅收之一的數(shù)字服務稅，據(jù)稱，歐盟委員會決定利用支柱一重新分配的常規(guī)利潤而產(chǎn)生的稅收來填補其預算缺口，由此，該措施其實對歐盟來說顯得更加迫切。歐盟欲用支柱一來替換預算原有的數(shù)字服務稅的具體措施是，將根據(jù)雙支柱協(xié)議，“在支柱一下，根據(jù)重新分配給各成員國的跨國企業(yè)應稅利潤的份額，向歐盟提供預算”，提供的具體百分比則暫未明確。

然而，用支柱一來取代歐盟的數(shù)字服務稅可能會引起爭議，因為任何賦予歐盟類似傳統(tǒng)國家權(quán)力的行為都會激怒許多成員國，而稅收問題尤其敏感，這需要所有成員國一致同意。愛沙尼亞和匈牙利已表示將阻止歐盟利用支柱一重新分配的應稅利潤而產(chǎn)生的稅收來填補原有數(shù)字服務稅帶來的稅收收入預算?？梢?，取消數(shù)字服務稅的舉措對歐盟委員會來說將是困難的，前述提出的利用支柱一來填補預算缺口的措施，看起來則像是在安撫歐盟內(nèi)部預算制定的鷹派。一位歐盟的高級官員表示，若支柱一最終不能通過立法，那么將不排除重新啟動數(shù)字服務稅。

歐盟行為準則組織改革

歐盟成員國可能將繼續(xù)在2022年度討論行為準則組織在稅收領(lǐng)域的改革。該組織以行為準則為依據(jù)，從而確定歐盟成員國的稅收政策是否有害，并確定歐盟以外國家或地區(qū)是否應列入“稅收黑名單”。

2020年7月，歐盟委員會宣布對該組織進行改革，以使其具有更廣泛的職責。歐盟委員會建議該組織應著眼于一個國家稅收制度的總體結(jié)構(gòu)，而不僅僅是具體的稅收政策。但彼時的改革提議遭到愛沙尼亞和匈牙利的反對而被擱置。一些非政府組織則認為，盡管該組織缺乏執(zhí)法權(quán)，但其對打擊破壞性和有害稅收實踐是重要的。

德國新聯(lián)合政府的稅收政策

聯(lián)合政府在談判初期表示，其無意提高所得稅或增值稅等關(guān)鍵稅種的稅率。雖然最終的聯(lián)合政府協(xié)議對稅收幾乎沒有提及，但其還是包括了對數(shù)字化和清潔能源投資的加速折舊以及延長虧損結(jié)轉(zhuǎn)條款。

環(huán)境稅收

歐盟委員會提議的碳邊境調(diào)節(jié)機制（CBAM）將使從環(huán)保法律較薄弱的轄區(qū)進口的商品更貴，該機制擬規(guī)定，2023年起，進口商將需要申報其進口產(chǎn)品的碳排放量，2026年起將開始征稅。但是專家認為，該時間表還是顯得太樂觀了。

另外，歐盟委員會還提出對歐盟能源稅框架法（即能源稅指令）進行修訂，以使該法更符合歐盟的氣候目標。例如，結(jié)束對飛機用煤油和輪船用油的免稅政策。但是，因各成員國國情不同，對修訂能源稅的看法和做法都不一致，例如，2018年法國提議提高燃油稅而引發(fā)大規(guī)模游行示威，因此，化解各成員國之間的分歧顯得尤為重要。

附英文報道如下：

European Tax Policy To Watch In 2022

By Todd Buell · Jan3, 2022, 12:02 PM EST ·

The European tax calendar will be busy in 2022 as policy makers try to write into law the global minimum tax agreed to by 137 countries — likely the most profound change to the tax system in European Union history.

The European Commission's main task for the year will be to implement the minimum tax, on which the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development issued model rules in December. Along with its proposal on the minimum tax,which is known as Pillar Two of the OECD's sweeping rewrite of the international tax rules, the commission is due to replace a revenue-raising measure in its own budget with the reallocation of taxing rights known as Pillar One.

A side from work on the two pillars, law makers will likely be occupied with ideas to reform a secretive EU body that assesses tax policies inside and outside the bloc. Meanwhile, a new government in Germany wants to use the tax system to boost green investments.

Here, Law360 examines the main tax policy developments that specialists will be watching for in the months to come.

Pillar One and Pillar Two

Pillar One, an approach that gives more taxing rights to so-called market jurisdictions, has taken on greater urgency for the EU with the commission's decision to use the revenue from the measure to fill a gap in its budget. After scrapping a planned digital services tax — one of the budget provisions designed to allow the EU to raise itsown revenue, or "own resources" — in December, the commission said it would look to Pillar One to make up the lost revenue.

The European Union is expected to offer its version of a proposal to give more taxing rights to market jurisdictions on July 27. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

On Dec. 22, the commission announced it would include part of the implementation of Pillar One in its budget. It said it was proposing that 15% of the share of residual profits allocated to EU member countries under Pillar One would flow toward the EU to help pay for the costs of the pandemic. EU budget commissioner Johannes Hahn said this could amount to up to €4 billion annually.

The measure could offer relief to smaller companies that risked beingsubject to the digital levy but would be spared from Pillar One, which would only impact very large firms. "An own resource based on Pillar One revenues would affect the world's largest corporations only," said Margit Schratzenstaller of Austria's Wifo institute.

The EU is expected to offer its version of Pillar One later in the year,with the latest calendar from the European Commission saying a proposal will come July 27.

Tax professionals are also eyeing the technical details of the commission's guidance on the minimum tax, which will spell big changes for companies'compliance regimes.

"To assist clients, we have to understand how and when Pillar Two isimplemented and how companies will have to comply with Pillar Two. This could be a very complex exercise," said Giorgia Maffini of PwC in London.

The EU unveiled its version of the tax Dec. 22, which stayed in line with the international agreement reached at the OECD while ensuring that both domestic and foreign groups are treated equally under EU law. It said EU finance ministers will begin discussions on the law in January, and thecommission hopes to have the bill formally agreed to in the first half of theyear.

France, which will lead meetings of EU members for the first six months of 2022, intends to achieve unanimous approval among members by the spring, thus giving enough time for national parliaments to transpose the deal into national law by the end of the year.

Tax professionals are hoping for a speedy agreement.

"We very much support France's ambition to make the minimum taxationin the EU a reality within its six-month presidency of the EU Council … and count on every member state to keep their word and swiftly agree on this reform," said Philippe Arraou,president of the European Tax Adviser Federation.

The OECD hopes that the minimum tax, as well as Pillar One, can come intoforce in 2023, a pace that some experts find rushed.

Edwin Visser, a tax specialist with PwC in Amsterdam, said the implementation timeline is too optimistic.

"I've been in international tax policy for 25 years, and this is the most complex set of rules I've ever seen," he told Law360.

Code of Conduct Group

EU member states in 2022 are also likely to continue a discussion on reformof the EU's Code of Conduct Group on business taxation. The group enforces a code, established in 1997, that is used as a basis to determine whether taxpolicies from EU countries are harmful and which countries from outside the bloc should be on the so-called tax blacklist.

In July 2020, the European Commission announced a push to reform the Code of Conduct Group and give it a broader mandate to look into countries' tax affairs. The commission suggested the group should look at the general structures of a country's tax system rather than just specific tax measures.

The EU's council of member states discussed these changes at a meeting of finance ministers in early December, but progress was blocked because two countries, Estonia and Hungary, objected. Estonia said it wanted to wait until the OECD tax over haul is completed before agreeing to further tax policy changes, and Hungary said it disagreed with the reforms on the merits.

Expanding the mandate to the general features of a tax system is "toobroad for an extension of the mandate, which could cause several problems," the Hungarian finance ministry told Law360. It also warned that reforms to the group could "create a backdoor to undesirable tax harmonization," making it politically "very difficult to accept."

For nongovernmental organizations, reforming the Code of Conduct Group is essential to tamp down what they see as damaging and harmful tax competition in the bloc, even if the group lacks broad enforcement power.

"This is what we have for the moment to try to tackle harmful tax practices. We are aware that it's a weak body," said Chiara Putaturo of Oxfam.

New German Government

On Dec. 8, a new German government came into office led by former Finance Minister Olaf Scholz as chancellor and Christian Lindner of the classicall yliberal Free Democrats as finance minister. The Green Party serves as the third member of the government.

The coalition said early in its negotiations that it didn't want to raise the rates of key taxes such as income or value-added tax. While the finalcoalition agreement says little about tax, it does include an accelerated depreciationon investments in digitalization and clean energy as well as an extended loss carry back provision.

Tax specialists believe these measures, about which details are scarce at the moment, have the potential to offer significant economic support.

"Any reform proposal should be efficient and effective," and that applies to both measures, said Reinald Koch, a professor at the Catholic University of Eichst?tt-Ingolstadt in Germany.

Environmental Taxation

Specialists also expect European leaders to discuss major changes to environmental tax law that the European Commission introduced in 2021.

The commission's proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism would essentially make it more expensive to import items from places with weak environmental laws. As it stands now, the law would require importers to report emissions from their products starting in 2023, even though they wouldn't have to pay any levies until 2026. This implementation time line, however, goes too quickly for some specialists.

"I think's an ambitious plan to have it implemented by 2023,"said Schratzenstaller of the Wifo institute.

In addition, the commission has put forward a revision to the bloc's framework law on energy tax, known as the Energy Taxation Directive. The commission said in 2019 that the law was out of date, and it is trying to make changes so that the law is more in line with the EU's climate goals. For example, it wants to end a tax exemption for kerosene used in airplanes and oil used in ships.

EU countries, however, have struggled to resolve differences on how to change the energy tax law for years, with countries not wanting to endorse changes that would spark domestic anger, such as the backl ash to proposed higher fuel taxes in France in 2018.

"It will be a challenge to find a common denominator between themember countries," Schratzenstaller said.

Nevertheless, companies need to closely watch developments in environmental taxation, another specialist said.

"Clients are concerned not only about the CBAM but also about the revision of the ETD and the general 'greenification' of taxation," said Jean-Philippe Van West of PwC in Belgium. "These might seem like changes that are just in a draft stage, but the changes will come fast, and you need tobe prepared."

--Additional reporting by Matt Thompson. Editing by Aaron Pelc and VincentSherry.（Source ：Law360）