The European Commission has recently proposed new measures to improve transparency and better facilitate the exchange of information between tax authorities.
In a Communication issued on 5 July 2016 by the Commission, the below priorities are proposed:
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That the Directive on Administrative Cooperation in the field of taxation be amended to give tax authorities access to national anti-money laundering information, particularly beneficial ownership and due diligence information;
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That the Anti-Money Laundering Directive be amended to subject existing, as well as new accounts, to due diligence controls, and to subject passive companies and trust to greater scrutiny and tighter rules;
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That the Commission examine how EU member states could automatically exchange their national information on beneficial owners of companies and trusts with a potential tax impact;
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That the Commission examine how to shed more light on tax advisors’ activities and create effective disincentives for those who promote and enable aggressive tax planning;
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That the Commission work with the European Council’s Code of Conduct Group on establishing a list of uncooperative tax jurisdictions, by identifying the most relevant countries to screen under the compilation process, with a view to having the first list read in 2017 and;
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That the Commission assess the need for new measures to increase protection for whistle-blowers, in addition to the protections already in place in sectorial legislation, such as that on market abuse.
Tax commissioner Pierre Moscovici explained that there are three strands to the Commission’s plan: providing tax authorities with crucial information on the individuals behind any company or trust, creating more transparency around the activities of tax advisors and taking a tougher stance against countries that allow offshore funds to be used for illicit purposes.
Source: Tax-News.com 06 July 2016