EU Sovereignty and Direct Taxation of Businesses

Authors

François Barreau

ISBN: 9781035383689

Published: May 2026

Format: Hardcover

Language: English

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing Limited

Description

Direct taxation remains one of the last strongholds of member state sovereignty within the European Union, yet EU law increasingly constrains national tax choices through the fundamental freedoms, state aid rules and harmonisation directives. This book examines the tension between preserved fiscal sovereignty and the EU's growing influence over corporate tax design, asking how far member states can still shape their own direct tax systems.

Key Features

Systematic account of the boundaries EU law places on national direct tax sovereignty; analysis of the fundamental freedoms, state aid control and harmonisation directives as constraints on tax policy; discussion of recent CJEU case law shaping the sovereignty debate; relevance to ongoing EU corporate tax reform proposals.

Coverage

The fundamental freedoms and their impact on corporate tax rules; EU state aid control applied to tax measures; harmonisation directives in direct taxation; the limits of remaining member state fiscal autonomy.

About the Author

François Barreau specialises in EU tax law and the constitutional dimensions of fiscal sovereignty within the Union, with a research focus on the interaction between EU primary law and national corporate tax systems.

Table of Contents

Part I: Sovereignty and Direct Taxation — Conceptual Foundations; Part II: The Fundamental Freedoms as a Constraint on Tax Design; Part III: State Aid and Direct Taxation; Part IV: Harmonisation and the Future of Fiscal Sovereignty in the EU.

Why buy this book?

As the EU pushes further corporate tax reform and state aid scrutiny intensifies, understanding exactly how much sovereignty member states retain over direct taxation is essential for advisers structuring EU cross-border operations and for academic collections tracking EU fiscal integration.

Keywords

EU tax law, fiscal sovereignty, direct taxation, state aid, fundamental freedoms, corporate tax, tax harmonisation

Target Audience

EU tax advisers, corporate tax counsel, academic law libraries, EU policy researchers, government tax officials

Genre

Academic, Professional Reference, EU Tax Law

Q&A

Q: Does this book cover state aid rules?

A: Yes — it examines how EU state aid control constrains national direct tax measures.

Q: Is this focused on corporate tax specifically?

A: The book centres on direct taxation of businesses within the EU, including corporate tax design and reform.

Q: What EU law constraints does the book analyse?

A: The fundamental freedoms, state aid control and harmonisation directives as limits on member state fiscal sovereignty.

Where can I buy EU Sovereignty and Direct Taxation of Businesses?

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