In a press release issued on Wednesday 29 July, the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) called on EU Member States to improve coordination of tax with respect to the digital and collaborative economy.
Although it believes that, with regard to the digitalisation of the economy, solutions should be coordinated at international level (see EUROPE B12533A17), the Committee encourages Member States to find solutions at EU level, “if reaching an agreement of this nature in the foreseeable future appears unrealistic”.
In an opinion adopted at its plenary session on 15 July, the EESC called for the development of a European standard for the collection of data and information on transactions on digital platforms, to be provided to tax authorities and retained over time.
According to rapporteur Ester Vitale, “the introduction of standardised and simplified reporting requirements, with reasonable compliance costs, might provide an incentive for digital platforms to comply with the rules”.
According to the EESC, a European standard might also prevent the Member States from adopting counterproductive unilateral measures, which create uncertainty about which rules apply in the internal market and could lead to excessive compliance.
The Committee states that national tax authorities should share the information collected through a “functional and proportionate system for collecting and exchanging data”.
The Committee believes that the exchange of information between private parties and public authorities must comply with European legislation on the protection of privacy and meet a strict interpretation of potential waivers.
On 15 July, the European Commission proposed amending Council Directive (2011/16/EU) on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (CAD), in order to extend the automatic exchange of information to digital platforms such as Uber and Airbnb (see EUROPE 12528/3).
The EESC opinion can be found at: https://bit.ly/3gc5yn5 (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)