@article{giraud2017tax author = {Adrien Giraud and Sylvain Petit}, title = {Tax Rulings and State Aid Qualification: Should Reality Matter?}, journal = {European State Aid Law Quarterly}, volume = {16}, number = {2}, year = {2017}, keywords = {Tax Ruling;Selectivity;Advantage;Distortion of competition;Counterfactual}, abstract = {In its decisional practice developing tax ruling, the European Commission uses a theoretical reasoning that can in some instances appear somewhat disconnected from the facts of the cases. Indeed, all these cases boil down to one single determination (whether the concerned transfer prices were – or not – set at market levels) and the satisfaction of all the conditions for the existence of State aid derive directly from this (rather theoretical) question alone. Little to no account taken of important factual elements (such as for example the context of international fiscal competition) and several conclusions appear to be presumed rather than demonstrated (for example the distortion of competition). One therefore remains with the general impression that State aid law remains into a sort of exception to the rest of competition law: an area of law where reality does not (really) matter. Keywords: Tax Ruling; Selectivity; Advantage; Distortion of Competition; Counterfactual.}, url = {https://doi.org/10.21552/estal/2017/2/9} doi = {10.21552/estal/2017/2/9} }