State aid and tax rulings: latest developments

In May, the EU General Court issued two further judgments in the run of cases on the application of EU state aid law to tax rulings by national authorities. The judgments confirm that, although the state aid rules can apply to rulings involving intra-group transfer payments, the Commission faces a high burden in showing that such rulings involve state aid. On the other hand, they also confirm that EU state aid rules potentially apply to any failure by the tax authorities to challenge complex tax avoidance schemes. Because EU state aid cases can still arise from the UK, UK tax advisers need to pay attention to these cases – and the principles they raise will also potentially carry over into the new UK subsidy regime.