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ATAD — Article 4

The article's text

Article 4 Interest limitation rule 1. Exceeding borrowing costs shall be deductible in the tax period in which they are incurred only up to 30 percent of the taxpayer's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA). For the purpose of this Article, Member States may also treat as a taxpayer: (a) an entity which is permitted or required to apply the rules on behalf of a group, as defined according to national tax law; (b) an entity in a group, as defined according to national tax law, which does not consolidate the results of its members for tax purposes. In such circumstances, exceeding borrowing costs and the EBITDA may be calculated at the level of the group and comprise the results of all its members. borrowing costs and the EBITDA may be calculated at the level of the group and comprise the results of all its members. 2. The EBITDA shall be calculated by adding back to the income subject to corporate tax in the Member State of the taxpayer the tax-adjusted amounts for exceeding borrowing costs as well as the tax-adjusted amounts for depreciation and amortisation. Tax exempt income shall be excluded from the EBITDA of a taxpayer. amounts for depreciatio
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n and amortisation. Tax exempt income shall be excluded from the EBITDA of a taxpayer. 3. By derogation from paragraph 1, the taxpayer may be given the right: (a) to deduct exceeding borrowing costs up to EUR 3 000 000 ; (b) to fully deduct exceeding borrowing costs if the taxpayer is a standalone entity. For the purposes of the second subparagraph of paragraph 1, the amount of EUR 3 000 000 shall be considered for the entire group. For the purposes of point (b) of the first subparagraph, a standalone entity means a taxpayer that is not part of a consolidated group for financial accounting purposes and has no associated enterprise or permanent establishment. of a consolidated group for financial accounting purposes and has no associated enterprise or permanent establishment. 4. Member States may exclude from the scope of paragraph 1 exceeding borrowing costs incurred on: (a) loans which were concluded before 17 June 2016, but the exclusion shall not extend to any subsequent modification of such loans; (b) loans used to fund a long-term public infrastructure project where the project operator, borrowing costs, assets and income are all in the Union. For the purposes of point (b) of the first subparagraph, a long-term public infrastructure project means a project to provide, upgrade, operate and/or maintain a large-scale asset that is considered in the general public interest by a Member State. Where point (b) of the first subparagraph applies, any income arising from a long-term public infrastructure project shall be excluded from the EBITDA of the taxpayer, and any excluded exceeding borrowing cost shall not be included in the exceeding borrowing costs of the group vis-à-vis third parties referred to in point (b) of paragraph 5. included in the exceeding borrowing costs of the group vis-à-vis third parties referred to in point (b) of paragraph 5. 5. Where the taxpayer is a member of a consolidated group for financial accounting purposes, the taxpayer may be given the right to either: (a) fully deduct its exceeding borrowing costs if it can demonstrate that the ratio of its equity over its total assets is equal to or higher than the equivalent ratio of the group and subject to the following conditions: (i) the ratio of the taxpayer's equity over its total assets is considered to be equal to the equivalent ratio of the group if the ratio of the taxpayer's equity over its total assets is lower by up to two percentage points; and of the group if the ratio of the taxpayer's equity over its total assets is lower by up to two percentage points; and (ii) all assets and liabilities are valued using the same method as in the consolidated financial statements drawn up in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards or the national financial reporting system of a Member State; with the International Financial Reporting Standards or the national financial reporting system of a Member State; or (b) deduct exceeding borrowing costs at an amount in excess of what it would be entitled to deduct under paragraph 1. This higher limit to the deductibility of exceeding borrowing costs shall refer to the consolidated group for financial accounting purposes in which the taxpayer is a member and be calculated in two steps: (i) first, the group ratio is determined by dividing the exceeding borrowing costs of the group vis-à-vis third-parties over the EBITDA of the group; and (ii) second, the group ratio is multiplied by the EBITDA of the taxpayer calculated pursuant to paragraph 2. and (ii) second, the group ratio is multiplied by the EBITDA of the taxpayer calculated pursuant to paragraph 2. 6. The Member State of the taxpayer may provide for rules either: (a) to carry forward, without time limitation, exceeding borrowing costs which cannot be deducted in the current tax period under paragraphs 1 to 5; (b) to carry forward, without time limitation, and back, for a maximum of three years, exceeding borrowing costs which cannot be deducted in the current tax period under paragraphs 1 to 5; or (c) to carry forward, without time limitation, exceeding borrowing costs and, for a maximum of five years, unused interest capacity, which cannot be deducted in the current tax period under paragraphs 1 to 5. of five years, unused interest capacity, which cannot be deducted in the current tax period under paragraphs 1 to 5. 7. Member States may exclude financial undertakings from the scope of paragraphs 1 to 6, including where such financial undertakings are part of a consolidated group for financial accounting purposes. 8. For the purposes of paragraphs 1 to 7, the taxpayer may be given the right to use consolidated financial statements prepared under accounting standards other than the International Financial Reporting Standards or the national financial reporting system of a Member State.

Who wrote about this article in the consultations

Filers who named this exact article number in their own text. It is their sentence, not our reading — and not a causal claim.

11
business association
6
company
2
NGO
1
EU citizen
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other
WhoCountryWhat they wrote
DeloitteBEin line with article 4(5), under (a) or (b). However, almost half of the Member States have not taken this option. As anti-avoidance rules shall be limited to those cases where there is a possible abusive situation, we call on the Commission to consider if thi
Fastighetsägarna SverigeSEse derogations is unclear. The directive provides very little guidance. For example, there is no guidance regarding derogation in Article 4 with regard to loans used to fund a long-term public infrastructure project. This derogation is important, but the legis
Loyens & Loeff N.V.NLthe controlled foreign company rules (paragraph 4), and the ATAD2 rules (paragraph 5). 54932355 4/21 2 Interest limitation rule (article 4 ATAD) 2.1 General 2.1.1 ATAD includes an interest limitation rule to discourage base erosion and profit shifting through
Tax Justice NetworkGBITDA threshold percentages. The most relevant options are (1) the grandfathering of interest on loans agreed before 17 June 2016 (article 4(4)(a)); (2) the group ratio rule (article 4(5)) which allows group companies to apply a group escape clause for the dedu
Irish Tax InstituteIED). Article 10 of the Directive states that the Commission shall evaluate the implementation of ATAD, in particular the impact of Article 4 (the Interest Limitation Rule (ILR)), and report back to the Council of the European Union. We note that the Commission’
Deloitte Belastingadviseurs B.V.NLonder wordt daardoor het uitoefenen van DAEB-activiteiten (sociale woningbouw) belemmerd. Dit roept de vraag op of toepassing van artikel 4 ATAD op woningcorporaties leidt tot strijd met artikel 36 van het Handvest van de Fundamentele Rechten van de EU en daar
Insurance EuropeBErom the calculation of the one-third threshold for the optional exemption in Article 7 paragraph 3. The interest limitation rule (Article 4) should be transformed into a thin capitalization rule that primarily targets debt owed to shareholders, rather than ove
Development companyCZity within the EU real estate market and economy overall. In this respect, we propose the following: • Extend the exemption under Article 4, paragraph 4 of the ATAD to include not only large-scale infrastructure projects but also large-scale real estate projec
PwC ILBEvia Article 4 of the ATAD, and the intra-group financing arrangements provisions in Article 16(8) of Pillar Two. While the mechanics of both rules are different, the outcome under both rules is that interest expense deductions may be restricted. The complexity
Housing EuropeBEtenants long-term housing Alternatively, a modification of article 4 paragraph 4 could be envisaged (in bold below): 4. Member States may exclude from the scope of paragraph 1 exceeding borrowing costs incurred on: (a) loans which were concluded before 17 June
Federation of German Industries e.V.DEn of German Industries e.V. Anti-tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) – evaluation www.bdi.eu page 5 of 14 1. Interest limitation rule (Article 4 ATAD) Several simplification rules have been introduced as optional (e.g., the safe harbor rule, which allows interest e
International Chamber of CommerceFR, the measures for EU Member States (MS) to implement tax legislation include five minimum requirements for anti-tax avoidance: • Article 4: Interest Limitation Rules • Article 5: Exit Taxation Rules • Article 6: General Anti-Abuse Rules (GAAR) • Articles 7 &
CFE Tax Advisers EuropeBEultimately serves the competitiveness and the resilience of the Single Market. For the purposes of interest deductions, the ATAD Article 4 paragraph 3 allows Member states to give taxpayers the right to deduct borrowing costs up to EUR 3,000,000 regardless of
EPRA (European Public Real Estate Association)BEining the necessary flow of capital investment. Broadening interest deduction exclusion limits In addition to the exclusion under Article 4, paragraph 4 regarding infrastructure projects, EPRA sees merit in having the Directive address the pressing challenges
MEDEFFRe MS may decide that a General Anti-Avoidance Rule serving as a safety net may be sufficient. INTEREST DEDUCTION LIMITATION RULE (ARTICLE 4) The tax rule limiting the deductibility of financial charges has become an obstacle to business investment and recovery
Conseil National de l'Ordre des Experts-ComptablesFRLobjectif de la Directive ATAD et de son article 4 est de lutter contre la planification fiscale agressive et contre lévasion fiscale. Plus que du mécanisme de lutte, cest donc la qualité des conseillers fiscaux qui appliquent ledit mécanisme quil faut garanti
Tax Executives Institute, IncUSertainty for taxpayers, which makes them more hesitant to invest in a particular jurisdiction, limiting growth. In addition, like Article 4 and the CFC rules, subsequent measures have rendered the GAAR superfluous. These measures include the anti-abuse rules i
European Business Initiative on Taxation (EBIT)BEief double taxation when said article is not implemented. Taxpayers have no possibility or access to relief of double taxation if article 4, § 6, is not implemented. Even if Article 4, § 6, is implemented, there is no guarantee that double taxation is effectiv
European Banking Federation (EBF)BEtake the opportunity to provide some specific comments regarding the current interest limitation deduction rules as laid down in article 4 of the ATAD Directive : • As the objective of this rule is to curtail tax avoidance through excessive debt financing, th
IThybrid rules purposes. Another topic is the relationship between the arm's length principle, the interest limitation rules (under art 4 of the ATAD) and the EU GAAR (under art 6 of the ATAD). Assuming that: i) under Chapter 10 of the OECD TP Guidelines (2022)
Studio Savorana & Partners- AdvisorITlia, è la mancata applicazione dell’opzione per la deduzione degli oneri finanziari eccedenti fino a euro 3 milioni prevista dall’art. 4.3 lettere a) e b) della direttiva. Allo stesso modo, pur comprendendo che ogni direttiva in materia fiscale è il risultato

Source: public consultation submissions and position papers. n = 21 mentions; counted as a literal reference to the article number.

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