MEPs on Wednesday adopted the Fiscalis programme for 2021-2027
which supports cooperation between national tax authorities to
fight tax evasion and avoidance.
The adopted text setting up the programme, already agreed with EU
ministers, improves the features of the previous Fiscalis
programme, which runs until end 2021.
Priority actions for national authorities
National tax authorities are invited to focus on a list of
priority actions to better fight against tax evasion and
avoidance. These actions include:
- combating cross-border VAT fraud;
- exchange of best practices on recovery of taxes, including
taxes not paid according to the European Savings Tax Directive
(EUSTD).
- closing loopholes in the effective implementation of EU laws
on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation; and
- promoting an effective exchange of information, including
group requests, and the development of useable formats taking
into account initiatives at international level.
Improved evaluation and reporting systems
Evaluations of the programme’s activity should be carried out in
a timely manner to feed into the decision-making process and
should be made publicly available by the Commission on a
dedicated webpage.
The text foresees a progressive modernisation of reporting,
auditing and software tools to be applied uniformly across Member
States.
Joint audits added to activities covered by the programme
The adopted text adds joint audits to the activities covered by
the programme budget. These will also include, inter alia,
expenses for preparation, monitoring, control, evaluation and
other activities for managing the Programme and evaluating the
achievement of its objectives.
EUR 300 million budget
Parliament negotiators asked for a budget of 300 million euros in
2018 prices (339 million in current prices) to be spent during
the coming seven 7-year period. This would be 10% more than
originally foreseen.
Quote
The rapporteur, Sven Giegold (Greens/EFA, DE), said: “The best
measure against dubious tax practices and to save millions of
taxpayers´ money is effective exchange of information. The
Parliament improved the initial Commission’s proposal
significantly by including a list of priority actions that
national tax authorities will need to work on to fight tax
evasion and avoidance. We also improved the evaluation and
reporting system to uncover possible shortcomings in the
cooperation and exchange between tax authorities. Additionally,
the financing of joint audits of several national tax
authorities, an effective instrument to control tax payments of
transnational corporations, have been won.”
Next steps
The text was adopted by 575 votes to 35 and 46 abstentions. The
Plenary voted on the partial agreement with EU ministers, closing
its first reading in view of the European elections. The
budgetary aspects are subject to the overall agreement with
member states on the next multiannual financial framework (MFF
2021-2027).
Background
The EU's Fiscalis Programme has proven indispensable in helping
tax administrations to cooperate better across the EU to improve
tax collection and fight tax fraud. First designed in 1993 purely
as a training and exchange programme for tax officials, Fiscalis
has become a game-changer for the EU's taxation landscape over
the last 20 years. In one year alone (2015), it helped Member
States to assess over €590 million in taxes for possible recovery
through joint EU controls.
Recent tax scandals, such as Luxleaks and Panama papers, have
shown the urgent need of better cooperation among national tax
authorities in the EU. A strengthened Fiscalis programme will
help address this issue, while offering support in the upcoming
challenges of the next decade, such as the digitalisation of
taxation activities, new economic models or the
internationalisation of financial instruments.
Further information
