Aggressive tax planning as a problem of public law and the common consolidated corporate tax base as a possible solution

In a global scenario in which nation states have lost centrality, multinational enterprises are gaining a great amount of power over the life and choices of citizens and even of governments. This can seriously affect the rule of law, intended as a limit to the arbitrary exercise of both public and private powers. From a tax law perspective, this problem is essentially connected to aggressive tax planning (ATP), which refers to complex practices enabling certain taxpayers to arbitrarily “choose” where they pay taxes and, therefore, arbitrarily determine their overall level of contribution to public expenses. A possible solution to restore the rule of law in tax matter could be found in the proposal for a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB), which is based on the idea that taxes could be levied on multinational enterprises based on their “overall” ability to pay – to be determined under a single, comprehensive legal framework – and that the related revenues could be attributed to nation states based on commonly agreed criteria. At the same time, CCCTB would prevent the risk of double taxation within the EU, ensure a clear and simple legal framework (thus improving legal certainty) and significantly reduce the administrative burden connected to tax compliance.