The assessment of tax aid suffers from the lack of a coherent and functionally consistent approach, evidenced by the field’s often intransparent and casuistic solutions. The balance between state aid law and tax law is still not right. This contribution uses the occasion of some recent developments, the GC’s Santander judgment and the attention that the so-called LuxLeaks affair has received, for a quick tour through the most pressing jobsites in tax aid assessment and formulates proposals to tackle at least one of them – the blurred line betweeEn the selectivity and advantage criteria. In particular, the Santander judgment leads the way to a more meaningful application of these criteria and it is suggested that particularly the Commission utilize it for its long-promised overhaul of the Business Taxation Notice.
Keywords: Taxation, LuxLeaks, Selectivity, Santander