EU Fiscal State Aid Rules and COVID-19: Will One Survive the Other?

Abstract

In order to facilitate tax relief to deal with the ramifications of the Corona virus, the European Commission temporarily eased the EU’s state aid framework. This contribution will provide a first glance of some of the tax-related measures taken both within and outside of the scope of state aid rules. Their range is wide, from tax filing and payment deferrals to changes to personal and corporate income taxes, VAT and property taxes. Some Member States still struggle with the remaining requirements not to provide tax advantages (other than deferrals) to companies already in financial difficulty before the COVID-19 lockdowns and with handling fiscal years ending after 2020. As for umbrella aid schemes that do not yet specify which measures will be taken but just serve to get approval based on a certain budget, the author suggests to provide a block exemption to reduce the need for prior notification to the Commission. Once government efforts to deal with sudden income loss, liquidity and solvency issues move to stimulating economic recovery, other policy objectives (like the Green Deal) might also enter the equation when companies apply for financial support. COVID-19, Corona, State aid, Tax relief, Tax advantage, Tax deferral, Financial difficulty, European Union