Real Estate Investment Trusts & the European Union Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base Proposal

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to study and speculate how the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) -initiative of European Commission would affect the operation of Real Estate Investment Trustees (REITs), currently operating in the member countries of European Union. Streams of used literature have been selected accordingly to meet the needs of this two way approach to the subject. The streams include studies of REIT markets at different stages around the globe as well as articles of their performance and faults, especially in Europe. At the other end, literature was selected to gain knowledge of the CCCTB proposal, its purpose and desired effects on the internal market of European Union. An additional source of literature was added to support the underlying linkage between these two, as European Public Real Estate Association (EPRA), had made a review and recommendations in response to the CCCTB initiative.

Findings indicate that the CCCTB could possibly have an enabling effect to the REITs operating in EU member countries by reducing bureaucracy and lowering costs and uncertainty regarding the business decisions. To further enable these gains, a frame for EU-REIT should be created to unify the regulation and rules being applied to them between the different models of each member country.