Michalis Hadjipantela MEP (EPP, Cypriot) is calling for greater tax cooperation and trust between Member States “to promote a level playing field for e-commerce, digital services and other fast-growing sectors”, in his draft own-initiative report published on Monday 24 March.
He regrets the omission of taxation as a key factor in improving Europe’s competitiveness and calls for a reduction in tax fragmentation and complexity (see EUROPE 13521/2).
In the explanatory memorandum, he states that “in the current economic landscape, we must strive for simplification and reduce regulatory and administrative burdens”, particularly because of “the changing economic environment, marked by digitalisation and globalisation”. He also believes that the digitalisation of tax administration offers great potential for reducing administrative burdens. He says: “Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and digital tools can streamline compliance processes, making it easier for businesses, especially SMEs, to navigate complex tax regulations”
In his view, “future EU initiatives on taxation should focus on administrative simplification, elimination (where relevant) of overlapping tax rules, increasing clarity and streamlining the application of tax rules” (see EUROPE 13597/11). Mr Hadjipantela is therefore calling on the Commission to present a study on how to simplify tax rules and address tax fragmentation for cross-border workers and the self-employed to boost competitiveness. He is critical of the fact that divergent national tax systems create administrative burdens, legal uncertainty and double taxation, hindering labour mobility and cross-border entrepreneurship.
He also calls on the Commission to conduct further studies on the effects of tax incentives for research and development (R&D) and innovation in enhancing European competitiveness on the global stage in line with the proposals of the Draghi report.
Finally, he calls for enhanced collaboration between the European Public Prosecutor’s Office and Eurofisc to strengthen intelligence-sharing, coordinated enforcement efforts and crossborder investigations in the fight against VAT fraud and other forms of tax evasion (see EUROPE 13574/23).
Read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/g54 (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)