The Fine Line between Anti-Abuse Measures and the Delimitation of a Member State’s Tax Jurisdiction: The Italian Case

This article analyses and compares the Italian controlled foreign companies regime and the deemed tax residence rules from an EU law perspective. Under these provisions, the Italian tax jurisdiction is extended to income and to taxpayers ordinarily falling outside its scope. The author suggests that recognizing the anti-abuse purpose of such extension, easily confused with the Member State’s right to unilaterally define its taxing powers, is a key step in questioning the compatibility of both rules with settled ECJ case law.