Tax In History: Thirty Years of Fiscal (In)coherence

Abstract

The mandatory requirement of jurisdictional fiscal coherence was born thirty years ago by mistake in the Bachmann Case, but was very desired to protect the integrity of Member States’ tax bases. Nevertheless, it subsequently hibernated for sixteen years. After the birth of its muscular brother ‘balanced allocation of taxing rights’ in the Marks & Spencer Case, however, it fortunately proved to be very much alive itself as well. It has been living more or less happily since then, and it even overcame the useless ‘one tax/one taxpayer’-limitation to her reach. It competed strongly with its balanced-allocation-sibling. Mostly, they perform ex aequo. At the same time, their fiscal-territoriality-stepsister increasingly steals the attention of their caregivers. Much as we love all three concepts, it would seem that three is a crowd. Even two is a crowd. As much as it may pain their caregivers’ hearts, the time has come to choose one favourite. Let us call her ‘Symmetry’; or ‘Integrity’. Bachmann, fiscal coherence, fiscal territoriality, balanced allocation of taxing power, abuse, convergence, tax base integrity, symmetry.