ASSESSMENT OF THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF BEPS DUE TO THE ARTIFICIAL AVOIDANCE OF PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT STATUS IN THE CONTEXT OF FISCAL NEUTRALITY

Introduction. In the context of European integration and the harmonization of tax legislation, the assessment of the fiscal neutrality of the international dimension of Ukraine's tax system has become an important research subject. Although the issue of fiscal neutrality in the context of international taxation is actively studied globally, it receives insufficient attention in the national context. The concept of fiscal neutrality, rooted in Adam Smith's classical economic theory, continues to serve as the basis for many modern tax models aimed at minimizing the influence of tax incentives on economic decision-making. The main challenge for modern tax policy is to strike a balance between stimulating economic productivity and fairly redistributing the tax burden between the locations where value is created and where it is taxed. Historically, this has been achieved through the development of neutrality concepts, including capital import and export neutrality, national neutrality, and capital ownership neutrality. These approaches aim to eliminate tax distortions caused by fiscal incentives and ensure equal conditions for economic actors at the international level. Despite numerous global initiatives aimed at standardizing and unifying international tax rules to combat base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), implementing tactical measures to counteract these negative phenomena is equally important. In particular, the author has explored the need to develop a system of indicators to detect artificial schemes to avoid the status of permanent establishment of non-residents in Ukraine, which is one of the key elements in ensuring the sovereignty of national tax revenues. This highlights the need for further research and improvement of Ukraine's tax system to shift from declarative neutrality to minimizing the effects of tax-motivated decisions by economic actors. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to comprehensively assess the harmful impacts of BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) through the example of artificial avoidance of the recognition of permanent establishment status by non-residents in Ukraine. This research aims to identify potential tax abuses related to the avoidance of registering permanent establishments, allowing foreign companies to minimize their tax obligations in the country. Despite the declarative component of fiscal neutrality in Ukraine's tax system, the study seeks to identify manifestations of tax-motivated decisions by economic entities. Materials and methods. The materials for this research include 1) the specialized commercial database Ruslana BvD; 2) open sources of information that may indicate the presence of unregistered permanent establishments of non-residents in Ukraine; 3) works by prominent economists whose research focuses on tax avoidance and the impact of neutrality on economic decision-making by business entities.