The EU has taken a further step to prevent corporate tax avoidance, adopting rules to close down 'hybrid mismatches' with the tax systems of third countries.
On 29 May 2017, the Council adopted a directive to prevent corporate groups from exploiting the disparities between two or more tax jurisdictions to reduce their overall tax liability.The directive was adopted at a meeting of the Competitiveness Council, without discussion. This follows an agreement at a meeting on 21 February 2017. The European Parliament gave its opinion on 27 April 2017. Member states will have until 1 January 2020 to transpose the directive into national laws and regulations (1 January 2022 for one specific provision).
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