On June 20, 2014 the European Union's Council of Economic
and Finance Ministers agreed to amend the EU Parent-Subsidiary
Directive (PSD) to prevent double non-taxation resulting from
hybrid loan arrangements. It is expected the amendment will be
adopted during the upcoming Council of the European Union and would
then be enacted in the domestic tax laws of the EU member
states.
The PSD was originally intended to prevent tax obstacles within
the EU. Prior to the proposed amendment, the PSD forbade the
taxation of corporate dividends received by a parent company from
its corporate subsidiary within the EU. As a result, the PSD
promoted the free repatriation of profits between EU member
countries and prevented double taxation of corporate income.