Scientific Programme

Day 1

We are experiencing a time of turbulent changes, in Europe and beyond. The development of the legal system in various Countries has been towards a progressive open to international relations, exchanges, flows of capitals: a progressive convergence of paradigms affecting the law in general and taxation in particular.

Some electoral decisions (in UK and US to name two of them) have casted shadows on this ongoing situation that appeared to be unstoppable and, in a way, relentess. Even if the decisions taken by the electoral bodies have been inspired from factors that are far away from taxation (and therefore do not constitute a topic of debate in the Ferrara's two days seminar) all of them appear to have a common background: the need for a more understanding of the people set to the margin of the globalization.

According to experts in electoral analysis both in the UK and in the US voters in favor of of the Brexit and of the current President are those, in a way, set to the margins of the wealth-production system: retired individuals or those suffering more from the loss of competitiveness of the respective country.

Apparently, the two countries failed in redistributing wealth or in providing decent opportunities for everybody.

Morning

The aim of the first day shall be to assess whether taxation law still operates as a device to redistribute wealth in other Countries (Italy, Germany, Hungary): the comparative study will be carried on the base of different papers or Powerpoint presentations.

Afternoon

During the afternoon we will focus much more on the legal instruments used in different Countries (or in the agenda) to protect the taxable base of the Country and to shield the domestic business sector from (un)fair foreign competition.

Different States have implemented different ways and means to achieve this goal. Some of them appeart to be not entirely compatible with the current state of international law; they would include:

Destination Based cash flow tax.

Actual possibilities of application in the US

Is it a tax on Income, for real ? What is the legal justification of it according to the Federal Constitution ?

The asymmetry between the US system (Corporate income tax) versus the EU one (Corporate income tax and VAT)

The Border Adjustment tax

The taxable base

The compatibility with current income tax

Analogies and differences with other ind of taxes (income ? consumption ? excises ? ...).

Day 2

In day 1 we will discuss the attempt by states to protect their bases and, in a way, to shield their economic systems form globalization and international (un)fair competition.

In a legal perspective, however, globalization appears to be unstoppable in terms of cross fertilization of rules, principles, taxes.

Hungary, Germany, Italy as part of the EU and OECD are no exception in this sense, and in all of them is it possible to observe an ever increasing number of regulations - in a way - imported fro abroad. These domestic changes are either induced by the influence of the above mentioned supra national organization, but in some occasions are driven by a sort of spontaneous convergence (the "resident but not domiciled" could be an example of this together with the "IP Box regime"). This would trigger conflict with countries who are reluctant to follow the same path of change or failures in term of compatibility of the imported rules with the domestic ones.

Legals transplants have proven to be hardly successful in recent times and at different latitudes both when they involve rules aimed at promoting investments and capitals or finalized at combating international tax avoidance or evasion.

The second day of the seminars should be aimed at presenting and discussing domestic provisions taken from abroad (or inspired by foreign implementations) in the domestic legal system.

Discussion could be triggered upon their possible compatibility with EU law or the ongoing BEPS project (or even WTO regulations).