Although Member States have only just reached an agreement on the proposal (DAC 7) to amend the EU Council Directive (2011/16/EU) on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC) so as to extend the automatic exchange of information to digital platforms (see EUROPE 12607/18), the European Commission is already preparing the next revision (DAC 8) to include crypto-assets.
In its inception impact assessment, published on Monday, 23 November, the European Commission explains that the lack of centralised control of crypto-assets, their pseudo-anonymity, and their hybrid characteristics as well as the rapid evolution of the underlying technology for these assets present challenges in terms of tax compliance.
In addition, it specifies that the fact that these assets can be used for both payment and investment purposes makes their classification and potential tax compliance even more difficult.
The European Commission’s objective is to ensure adequate tax transparency in order to ensure correct taxation. Thus, the initiative will need to identify the relevant intermediaries for tax, joint-reporting, and due-diligence purposes.
The impact assessment will examine which assets should be included, notably whether the scope should cover ‘stablecoins’ and electronic money.
It will also focus on the data that should be collected and exchanged between national tax authorities and on the impact of the various policy options to ensure this exchange. The European Commission explains that the objective is to collect only the data necessary to carry out risk assessments and facilitate tax audits of crypto-assets.
The next revision is also expected to aim to address some of the inefficiencies of the current directive, including the limited provisions with regard to sanctions, as well as align EU rules with the OECD’s work on the subject. The European Commission’s initiative is expected in the third quarter of 2021.
See the inception impact assessment: https://bit.ly/3l0csNU (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)