The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has called upon the European Commission to set out more precise hallmarks to support its proposed new disclosure and reporting rules for intermediaries who advise on cross-border tax planning schemes.
In June, the Commission put forward an amendment to the administrative cooperation directive which would require intermediaries, such as tax advisors, banks and lawyers, to report schemes falling within a broad set of hallmarks to the tax authorities. These hallmarks are linked to issues such as the use of losses to reduce tax liability, special beneficial tax regimes, or arrangements through countries that do not meet international good governance standards (see http://bit.ly/2DJxZ8v).
‘The scope of the proposed hallmarks is too broad’, said Victor Alistar, rapporteur for the EESC opinion. They would need to be framed more precisely to prevent subjective interpretation by taxpayers and tax authorities. ‘The Commission and the member states must provide appropriate and constructive guidance in this regard’, Mr Alistar added.
The EESC also urged the Commission to elaborate on how the directive applies to the digital economy and clarify the criteria for ensuring a uniform approach to the prosecution of failures to report. It recommended evaluation of the directive in a two-yearly public report and that administrative costs for all sizes of business should remain as low as possible.
The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has called upon the European Commission to set out more precise hallmarks to support its proposed new disclosure and reporting rules for intermediaries who advise on cross-border tax planning schemes.
In June, the Commission put forward an amendment to the administrative cooperation directive which would require intermediaries, such as tax advisors, banks and lawyers, to report schemes falling within a broad set of hallmarks to the tax authorities. These hallmarks are linked to issues such as the use of losses to reduce tax liability, special beneficial tax regimes, or arrangements through countries that do not meet international good governance standards (see http://bit.ly/2DJxZ8v).
‘The scope of the proposed hallmarks is too broad’, said Victor Alistar, rapporteur for the EESC opinion. They would need to be framed more precisely to prevent subjective interpretation by taxpayers and tax authorities. ‘The Commission and the member states must provide appropriate and constructive guidance in this regard’, Mr Alistar added.
The EESC also urged the Commission to elaborate on how the directive applies to the digital economy and clarify the criteria for ensuring a uniform approach to the prosecution of failures to report. It recommended evaluation of the directive in a two-yearly public report and that administrative costs for all sizes of business should remain as low as possible.
