Brussels, 20/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - At their meeting in Brussels on 19 and 20 December, EU heads of state called for new progress at global level and in the EU on tackling tax evasion and evasive tax planning, the transfer of profits, money-laundering and the leaking of non-financial information by big companies, but failed to make any substantial progress on moving towards an agreement on the revision of the EU savings tax directive, a key anti-tax fraud measure, which is being vetoed at the Council of Ministers by Austria and Luxembourg.
In the summit conclusions document, the heads of state call for adoption of the revised savings tax directive by March 2014, although the conclusions document for the May 2013 summit set 21 December 2013 as the deadline. The politicians called for speedier progress in talks on adjusting the EU's tax deals with Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, San Marino and Monaco to ensure that the five countries' tax offices apply to EU taxpayers' accounts in these countries similar conditions to those in force in the EU under the administrative cooperation directive (see below) and the revised savings tax directive. Austria and Luxembourg says that they will not sign up to the revised savings tax directive (for which unanimous voting is required) until such agreements are signed with the five tax havens. The revised savings tax directive extends automatic exchange of information (AEI) to tax information on payments from trust funds and foundations.
The heads of state call for unanimous agreement in principle early in 2014 on the directive on administrative cooperation, for which AEI will apply in 2015, on income from work, pensions, attendance fees, income from real estate and life insurance. Luxembourg has already announced that it will apply the directive from 1 January 2015 onwards. (FG/transl.fl)