Fight against tax fraud and tax evasion

Key points:

The EESC

• endorses the Commission's plan and supports its efforts to find practical solutions as regards reducing tax fraud and tax evasion
• finds that real progress is possible only if the Member States devote more attention to enhancing the efficiency of their tax administrations, equipping them with sufficient financial and human resources, while ensuring better coordination between them
• recommends that the Commission and the Council include the issues of tax fraud, tax evasion and aggressive tax planning in the annual growth surveys and the European semester
• welcomes the Commission’s proposals to blacklist jurisdictions that operate as tax havens and calls for common criteria to be established at EU level for identifying such jurisdictions. Such blacklisting should also cover jurisdictions belonging to Member States and companies operating in those jurisdictions
• believes that the Commission could complement the blacklisting proposals with sanctions for companies such as exclusion from public contracts, EU funding and state aid
• believes that aggressive tax planning is an inherently immoral practice that significantly affects the functioning of the internal market and distorts the fairness of tax systems vis-à-vis taxpayers
• recognises the importance of the efforts made by the Commission to negotiate agreements on good tax governance with neighbouring countries welcomes the Commission's decision to explore the possibility of introducing a European TIN (tax identification number)
• reiterates its call to the Member States to harmonise the indirect taxation system and encourages the Commission to put forward proposals in this area.