Concurrence of EU Direct Tax Directives: Hierarchy of Norms, Interpretational Solutions, or Decluttering?

The number of (proposals for) EU directives in the field of direct taxation is continuously growing. In the process of drafting them, the focus appears to be on the desired outcome of that specific legislative instrument. The complete overview is not taken into account and certainly not the relation between the proposal and already existing directives or others that are pending. In this publication, the author answers the question of how directives in the field of direct taxation relate to each other, how textual differences on comparable subjects between directives and conflicts in interpretation among directive provisions can be resolved, and where discrepancies between proposals and adopted directives currently exist (and how they can be resolved). To achieve this, the hierarchy of norms in secondary EU legislation will be discussed and several suggestions for simplifications and decluttering will be made, in accordance with the EU Commission’s policy agenda.