Taxation White Paper: Investors’ perspective on getting it right

This white paper was authored by members of Invest Europe’s Tax Innovation Working Group, including Angelo Rocco Bonissoni.
Available on Invest Europe (link) and reported by Bloomberg (link).

Addressing the issue of attracting investment to Europe seriously requires a paradigm shift. While reducing bureaucracy and curbing overregulation are necessary conditions, they are no longer sufficient. The real turning point lies in adopting a more realistic, structural approach that recognises investment as a public good and an essential factor in societal development. Investment helps to address societal needs such as jobs, purchasing power and the resources required to meet people's needs.

From this perspective, capital is not just a means of generating private returns; it is also a driver of economic growth, innovation and social cohesion. This also implies rethinking the role of institutional investors, who must operate as both allocators of resources and strategic actors within a broader ecosystem.

For a vision to be truly effective, it must be holistic, encompassing the entire chain of investment stakeholders and operations, from fundraising and capital management to investment and divestment. Rather than simply increasing incentives or subsidies, it is a matter of establishing a regulatory and operational framework that is consistent with our objectives and capable of keeping pace with market developments. Within this framework, the need for a more harmonised system emerges strongly, not just fiscal but in other areas too. Such a system must approach the market, investment management and financing structures with a bold, innovative and forward-looking mindset. It must break free from old methods and propose systems that reduce fragmentation among national legal systems, which currently represent a concrete obstacle to capital mobility.

In this regard, the debate on a possible '28th European jurisdiction' is worthy of attention: an optional supranational regime equipped with uniform and certain rules could be a pragmatic way to attract continental-scale investment, offering operators a more predictable and competitive environment than the current fragmented system. However, attention must then give way to determination in order to implement it.

The current transformations in the financial world, which are also driven by innovation, make this need even more urgent. The increasing use of artificial intelligence in decision-making processes, portfolio management and exit strategies is changing the way the sector operates. At the same time, investments are gradually shifting towards increasingly intangible asset classes, and advanced technological platforms are revolutionising trade clearing and settlement systems.

These developments present both an opportunity and a cause for concern. They open up unprecedented avenues for efficiency and value creation, offering a real opportunity. A warning sign because they highlight the risk of Europe falling behind in adapting its regulatory and operational framework.

Therefore, the challenge is not only to attract more capital, but also to do so in an intelligent and sustainable manner. We must equip ourselves with the appropriate tools ( fiscal and otherwise) to navigate a rapidly changing landscape. At stake are not only the competitiveness of European markets, but also the continent's ability to remain a key player in the future global economy.