Rethinking Tax Sovereignty in the European Union

This book discovers the constitutional room for European tax integration within the EU Treaties with respect for national sensitivities and based on fundamental tax principles

Why this book?

This book presents a structuring of the argumentation in the debate on European integration, sovereignty and taxation in the European Union. In the search for an integrative agenda that closely aligns with the Treaties themselves, the book dismisses political arguments cloaked as legal arguments that do not find any legal grounding in the European Treaties or national constitutional law, thereby also respecting the distinct features of the national legal setting. A first descriptive theoretical chapter delves deeper into the historical context of the sovereignty concept in continental Europe and argues that the material form of sovereignty is different for each jurisdiction. The subsequent chapter grounds these different national traditions in the project of European integration, with specific attention paid to the role of taxation within that integrative project. Thereafter, a new integrative path is proposed that aligns more closely with the fundamental principles that guide the exercise of the governmental function of taxation in the Member States, and is transposed to the EU setting as European legal principles and common constitutional principles. This common constitutional core has not materialized in the tax setting, but could greatly enhance the legitimacy of the European integrative endeavours. Whether this is currently the case with the harmonization initiatives currently tabled or underway, is assessed in the final chapter. The conclusion presents a synthesis of the above, concluding that there is a principled way forward in terms of European tax integration that would legitimize the overall project and that would sufficiently respect national sensitivities surrounding tax integration.