Bilateral cooperation as an instrument of harmonization in the field of direct company taxation - a comparative legal analysis with particular focus on the German-French intergovernmental cooperation

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Steffen Lampert
• Subject Area: Public Law
• Term: from 2015 to 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 265382101

The aim of the research project is to analyze the suitability of intergovernmental cooperation as an instrument for the harmonization of corporate tax law in the European Union. The project is based on an acute dilemma: On the one hand the EU Commission and member states still hold the opinion that there is an ongoing and urgent need for further harmonization. On the other hand the conventional instruments have been deemed unsuitable for such harmonization. To break this deadlock, Germany and France have in recent years examined the possibilities of bilateral harmonization and have - to a certain extent - implemented consistent provisions of company taxation. This readiness to break new ground gives reason to examine the suitability of the bilateral approach as a new instrument of harmonization. In our opinion, as the bilateral approach takes place outside the institutional framework of the EU and therefore does not participate in the primacy of application of Union law, the suitability of the approach largely depends on the way in which harmonizing measures are compatible with the existing tax systems of the cooperating states. Thus an examination of the suitability of the bilateral approach first requires the identification of the legal (and possibly non-legal) factors which are relevant for harmonization with regard to reference areas. Next, the importance of those factors has to be weighted with respect to the respective reference areas. Finally, the knowledge acquired has to be classified in a meta-framework. The systematization shall enable us to draw general conclusions regarding the suitability of the bilateral approach. The findings shall show the institutions participating in the legislative process on both the supranational and the national level the appropriacy of intergovernmental cooperation in addition to the existing methods of harmonization.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: France
• Cooperation Partner: Professor Dr. Daniel Gutmann
• Co-Investigator: Professor Dr. Ludovic Ayrault