Brussels, 17/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - On 17 December, the European Commission announced the end of anonymous bank accounts in the European Union from 1 January 2013 onwards, when the new directive on administrative cooperation in direct taxation comes into force (EU Directive 2011/16/EU), which will facilitate the fight against tax fraud by improving and speeding up the exchange of information between tax offices vis-à-vis individuals and companies. It will: - ban member states from refusing to supply tax information to another member state on the grounds that the information is kept by a financial body (the measures on the automatic exchange of information, however, do not come into force until 1 January 2015); - provide standard forms and procedures for faster exchange of information; - bring in a “most favoured nation” system for the exchange of information; - allow tax officials to carry out investigations in other member states and give information about their decisions and tax documents to other member states. The directive covers all taxes and duties apart from those covered by special legislation (VAT and excise duty). (FG/transl.fl)