Navigating the EU's new business tax package (EU BT 21): the podcast

Struggling to tell your DEBRA from your BEFIT? Don’t know your CBAM from your CBCR? Our international team of tax experts can help you make sense of it all. In our latest podcast, senior associate Josh Critchlow interviews tax partners Bob van Kasteren, Philipp Redeker, Georg Roderburg and senior knowledge lawyer Brin Rajathurai on the highlights of the EU’s recent Communication on Business Taxation for the 21st century or "EU BT 21".

The EU has said that the EU BT 21 reforms aim “to promote a robust, efficient and fair business tax system in the European Union”, but what will that mean for businesses operating or investing in the EU? This wide-reaching package covers a diverse range of measures from those addressing the increasing digitalisation of the economy, to those designed to increase transparency and others supporting the green transition. Some of the measures are progressing plans the EU has been working on for several years whereas others are heading into new territory.

In our latest Tax matters podcast, we take a look at some highlights of the package, including what the recent international agreement on the OECD’s two-pillar plan means for the EU. We also examine the EU’s plans to take this one step further with proposals for new EU-wide rules (Business in Europe: Framework for Income Taxation, or “BEFIT”), plus a proposal that challenges the traditional lines between debt and equity (the Debt Equity Bias Reduction Allowance, or “DEBRA”). In addition, we touch on the EU’s latest tax initiatives in relation to sustainability, both in terms of environmental measures, as well as those supporting the wider global trend towards integrating environmental, social and good governance goals into the global tax framework. This includes measures encouraging greater trust and transparency such as additional reporting obligations and anti-abuse measures. We also discuss how likely it is that these reforms will happen and, finally, what businesses should be thinking about now.

Click here to listen to the podcast, and for more insights on the EU BT 21 package please see our dedicated webpages on navigating EU BT 21, which have additional resources including a timeline for the reforms and our latest blogs and briefings on the various reforms.