WTS Study: Interest Limitation Rules in the EU
Implementation of Council Directive (EU) 2016/1164 of 12 July 2016
Status as of June 2018
On 20 June 2016, the Council of the European Union adopted the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (“the ATAD”) laying down rules against tax avoidance practices that directly affect the functioning of the internal market. The ATAD was issued to ensure a coordinated approach to the OECD work on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) within the European Union and establishes certain minimum standards that EU Member States need to adhere to in the field of interest limitation, exit taxation, controlled foreign companies, general anti-abuse rules and hybrid mismatches.
The Interest Limitation Rule (“ILR”) must be adopted into national law by 31 December 2018. However, EU Member States are allowed to grandfather existing interest limitation rules which are equally effective to the interest limitation rule set out in the ATAD by 1 January 2024, at the latest. Out of the 28 EU countries, 11 countries have opted to apply the grandfathering rules.
ATAD Study
WTS Global has concluded a European WTS ILR Study regarding the implementation of the ILR in the various EU Member States. For comparison purposes, the scope of this survey has been extended to Norway, Switzerland and the United States as well.
This ILR Study has been conducted to provide a high-level overview of the (envisaged) implementation, and differences in outcome, of the ILR in the aforementioned countries. The input, on which this ILR Study is based on, comes from local tax experts of the Global WTS network who are frequently dealing with ILR issues and who are, therefore, familiar with, both, the theoretical as well as the practical background (if there is a current regulation in place).
