On Tuesday 9 April, the European Tax Adviser Federation (ETAF) presented 25 recommendations to ensure that the EU tax system is simpler, rationalised and future-proof, ahead of the European elections in June.
First and foremost, ETAF urges the European Commission to promote the development of national professional legal frameworks and, in particular, to encourage every EU Member State to regulate tax advising activity, to ensure high levels of access qualification and continuous mandatory professional training, and to set up professional organisations with mandatory membership and sanctioning competencies. The ‘SAFE’ initiative on aggressive tax planning has been delayed (see EUROPE 13212/16, 13212/17).
The Federation is also calling for professional secrecy to be protected in European legislation, by ensuring that national rules are respected and that the tax profession is treated fairly compared to lawyers and auditors as regards professional secrecy.
Finally, it calls for the rationalisation of EU reporting requirements and the development of tax education and tax honesty. It argues for maintaining the principle that “what’s illegal offline should be illegal online”, and for an inclusive approach to stakeholder engagement.
Read the manifesto: https://aeur.eu/f/bog (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)