International tax planning and corporate social responsibility (CSR): Crucial issues and a proposed "assessment" in the European Union context

The paper analyses whether international tax planning strategies which are being carried out especially by multinational groups must always be regarded as incompatible with corporate social responsibility (CSR), described as requiring companies to take into consideration the interests of the stakeholders' community, on a voluntary bases, beyond the minimum legal requirements. It discusses whether a national or a universal benchmark can be used to assess their incompatibility with CSR and whether a specific assessment would be appropriate when these corporate tax strategies are implemented within the EU and involve the exercise of fundamental freedoms.