This contribution touches upon a number of recent state aid developments. It addresses EU limits to the tax authority's competence to conclude tax settlements and rulings and pays special attention to their role as creditors settling payment issues. Other points discussed are the need for investment fund regimes not to go beyond full transparency in order to stay outside of the state aid regime and the relation between state aid and other primary EU law. Moreover, the tax facilitation of takeovers and the use of cooperatives in tax planning will be addressed. Finally the limitations to state aid as an instrument to address harmful tax competition are to be briefly dealt with in light of the effects test introduced by the ECJ when dealing with analytical taxation of profits.
Intertax