Brussels, 05/05/2010 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 5 May, the European Parliament adopted without any amendments an own initiative advisory report by José Manuel García-Margallo y Marfil (EPP, Spain) on the draft EU Regulation to boost administrative cooperation to combat value added tax (VAT) fraud (see EUROPE 9958). The report agrees with the European Commission proposal to allow national tax offices access to information in other member states' VAT databases. New measures will detail the type of information to be provided, checks to be made when registering a VAT number and how information will be exchanged between tax authorities.
In a bid to encourage member states to exchange information, the MEPs want the European Commission to monitor cases where a member state is refused access to information or is unable to carry out an investigation. Learning exactly why a member state refuses to cooperate should help the Commission draw up recommended improvements to the system. MEPs highlight the EU approach to be used by Eurofisc, a VAT fraud information network of representatives of national tax authorities. The EP wants to be sent an annual report on Eurofisc's work. In line with the recommendations of the European Data Protection Supervisor, the report introduces measures to ensure that the exchange of tax information about individuals respects EU data protection rules. (M.B./transl.fl)