This Guest Editorial takes stock of ongoing efforts to enhance tax fairness within the European Union (EU), a challenge exacerbated by legal fragmentation across Member States and the limitations of EU primary law in the area of tax harmonization, and delves into the specific role played by the Court of Justice in this context. In particular, four key areas are examined: (1) the fight against abusive tax avoidance practices, particularly in VAT and corporate taxation; (2) the prevention of selective tax advantages granted to undertakings; (3) the promotion of cross-border cooperation between tax authorities; and (4) how to reconcile the promotion of tax fairness with the EU’s constitutional framework. The Editorial highlights how disparities in national tax regimes, while permitting economic operators to seek advantageous tax outcomes, may constitute fertile ground for tax evasion and competitive distortions. The Court of Justice however has an important role to play in addressing that risk, in particular by ensuring the effet utile of EU legislative measures aimed to fight unfair tax practices by economic operators even beyond the conceptual framework of fraud and abuse. While progress has already been made in this respect, the Editorial concludes that achieving tax fairness requires sustained coordination between EU and Member State actors. Such coordination is key to reconcile the operation of the internal market with the EU’s broader social and economic objectives, and thus to preserve the trust placed by citizens in the ability of the Union to bring about social progress.
EC Tax Review