The insurance industry has expressed concern at certain provisions of the Commission's proposal to require tax intermediaries (advisers, lawyers, etc.) to submit the tax planning schemes they devise for their clients to the tax authorities, as these could prove harmful.
On Wednesday 13 December, Insurance Europe, which represents the insurance sector, referred to the derogation that is permitted when tax advisory professionals are bound by confidentiality pursuant to the national laws of the member states. In such scenarios, submitting the schemes in question to the tax authorities would then be the responsibility of the taxpayer client.
“This provision could lead to a situation where it will fall primarily to taxpayers and therefore companies to report (...)”.
“Monitoring this new reporting obligation and filing these reports will consequently result in an additional administrative burden which should not be underestimated”, says Insurance Europe.
A five-year period to submit the schemes to the tax authority would not be appropriate, given the significance of the information to be submitted.
The insurance sector also calls for a clearer definition of the hallmarks to indicate when a scheme is potentially harmful. (Original version in French by Élodie Lamer)