Mr Jeffrey Owens, Director of OECD's Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, presented to FEE Direct Tax Working Party on 30 May. The ICAI is a member of FEE (Federation of European Accountants). Mr Owens made some interesting comments on CCCTB.

It was noted that while Ireland, Sweden and to some extent Britain have been vocal in their opposition to a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base, Mr Owens believes that CCCTB may not be in the interest of many other EU Member States. Mr Owens believes that when Member State governments fully analyse the working details of CCCTB then the complexities of the policy is likely to yield a change in support.

In particular, Mr Owens commented that introducing CCCTB as an option for calculating tax within a Member State would not be workable and would not be availed of by holding companies located in the Member State offering the option. CCCTB, as currently proposed, is optional; companies with operations in multiple Member State will be able to choose to use either a mix of existing national taxation systems, or the new CCCTB system.

If it is to be implemented, then Mr Owens does not foresee its introduction for some time.

One of CCCTB's main supporters-Germany is currently rethinking its stance on this policy. Germany is reviewing its domestic tax policy as a more effective means of protecting its tax base.