A Gender-based Inquiry of the EU VAT System

Föreläsare

Cristina Trenta is full professor of public law at Linnaeus University, Sweden. She has been appointed twice as a member of the European Commission’s VAT Expert Group, and she's been a member of the Expert Group for the EU Observatory on the Online Platform Economy for the European Commission. She holds a PhD in European Tax Law from the Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy, and a second distinct PhD in Commercial Law from Jönköping International Business School, Jönköping, Sweden. Her first PhD dissertation on “VAT and Communication Services” won the European Tax Thesis Award, a prestigious acknowledgment to innovative research in the field jointly assigned by the European Commission and the European Association of Tax Law Professors.

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to evaluate the possible discriminatory effects of the European Value Added Tax (EU VAT) on the consumption of goods and services women typically make use of. More specifically, the research investigates if and how the current EU VAT system, originally designed in the 1960s to maintain tax neutrality for taxable persons and businesses in general, has also concurrently evolved to ensure “tax neutrality” for women. In the study, tax neutrality for women is understood in accordance with the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU Charter) and the Treaty of the European Union (TEU), both of which uphold the principles of equality and the absence of all types of discrimination in European Union policy.

The analysis conducted here is crucial for understanding how the EU VAT system may or may not contribute to perpetuating existing gender-based discrimination that hinder women’s access to resources and their economic participation to society. A confirmation of any such consequence would be in direct violation of the provisions of the TEU which establish gender equality as an integral component of the EU policies aimed at promoting inclusive growth. Furthermore, this perpetuation would run contrary to the principles outlined in the EU Charter which uphold the values of equality between women and men.

While the study could facilitate the development of fairer EU VAT frameworks that do not disadvantage or discriminate against vulnerable groups within society, possible tax solutions addressing any discriminatory effects of the EU VAT systems, if identified, are beyond its scope.

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