Selectivity in Fiscal Aids: Recent Developments

The notion of fiscal aid is becoming crucial in determining the relationship between supra-national integration and national tax sovereignty; the selectivity criterion is often key in the assessment of compatibility of fiscal measures with Article 107(1) TFEU. Therefore, the notion of selectivity as defined by the recent case-law of the CJEU and decision-making practice of the Commission is fundamental in order to understand the actual allocation of powers in direct taxation matters. Against this backdrop, the aim of the present article is to establish what the current notion of selectivity is in fiscal aids, assessing whether the approach used by the CJEU and the Commission share common patterns, and evaluating the impact of such interpretation on the division of competences within the EU. In particular, this article offers a critical reading of the recent European Commission v. World Duty Free case and of the so-called Tax Rulings Decisions.