In its response to the European Commission's evaluation of the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD), the European Association of Public Banks (EAPB), as the European umbrella organisation for public banks, has argued for corporations to be exempted from ATAD. An important feature of ATAD is the interest limitation rule, which increases the tax burden on corporations when raising finance.
The Dutch government is asking housing associations to make major investments in new construction and (sustainable) renovation of homes. These investments are necessary from a social perspective, but as a result of the ATAD, they will also lead to higher corporation tax for housing associations and, in the long term, possibly to lower creditworthiness. Aedes, the association for housing corporations, has calculated that the tax burden (available in Dutch only) on Dutch social housing corporations will increase to 465 million per year.
The EAPB proposes exempting public sector entities and entities with a social purpose in Europe from the ATAD. This also includes Dutch housing associations.
BNG endorses the EAPB's initiative. This will prevent a slowdown in investment in new housing construction and renovation. Next year, the Commission will review the ATAD.