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MEPs Blame Hungary for Blocking Historic Tax Deal 
1 August 2022
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
In a resolution of 6 July 2022, the European Parliament expressed its dissatisfaction with the blocking of EU rules on global minimum effective corporate taxation for large group companies. A planned Council Directive on “ensuring a global minimum level of taxation for multinational groups … Read more
EU Tax Evasion
Reverse Charge Mechanism Can Be Applied until 2027 
1 August 2022
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
The Council extended the application period of the optional VAT reverse charge mechanism until 31 December 2026. The respective Directive (EU) 2022/890 amending Directive 2006/112/EC entered into force on 11 June 2022. The extension became necessary since the Council has not been able to agree … Read more
EU Tax Evasion
EU and Norway Want to Improve Cooperation in Combating VAT Fraud 
29 June 2022 (updated 1 year, 10 months ago)
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl in Issue 2/2022
On 17 June 2022, the Council authorised the Commission to negotiate with Norway the revision of the agreement between the EU and Norway on administrative cooperation, combating fraud and recovery of value added tax (VAT) claims. The agreement enables the tax authorities of the EU … Read more
EU Tax Evasion
Fraud Assets in the Millions Seized 
21 June 2022
Cornelia Riehle LL.M. Cornelia Riehle LL.M.
At the beginning of April 2022, a joint operation between Italian and Austrian authorities that was also supported by Eurojust dismantled a massive fraud scheme depriving Italian authorities of at least €440 million. Under the scheme, Italian companies were used to sell false tax credits, … Read more
EU Eurojust Tax Evasion
CJEU Rules on Scope of GDPR for Tax Authority Requests 
20 April 2022
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
The provisions of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) do not in principle prevent the tax administration from requiring a service provider on the internet to provide it with information on taxpayers, the CJEU ruled on 24 February 2022 in Case C-175/20. However, such … Read more
EU Tax Evasion Data Protection
CJEU: Fines for Failure to Declare Assets Abroad Can Be Disproportionate 
17 February 2022
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
On 27 January 2022, the CJEU declared Spanish legislation, which allows the imposition of high fines if a Spanish tax resident failed to comply with mere obligations to declare or purely formal obligations regarding his/her overseas assets, not in line with the principle of free movement of capital. Read more
EU Tax Evasion
Pandora Papers: Parliament Calling for Investigations and Improvement of EU Blacklist of Tax Havens 
18 January 2022
Dr. Anna Pingen Dr. Anna Pingen
On 21 October 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for thorough investigations to be launched into any wrongdoing that took place in EU jurisdictions as revealed by the Pandora Papers. After the Pandora Papers had exposed tax avoidance on an unprecedented scale, MEPs … Read more
EU Tax Evasion
EP Suggests New Framework on Harmful Tax Practices 
21 October 2021
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
On 7 October 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution that calls for a reform of the EU policy on harmful tax practices. The resolution makes several recommendations for the future EU work on harmful tax practices. The EP makes a concrete proposal for for a “Framework on Aggressive Tax Arrangements and Low Rates”, which would replace a current soft law instrument on business taxation. Read more
EU Tax Evasion
Joint Action Day “Arktos 3” 
29 July 2021 (updated 5 years, 2 months ago)
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
During the Joint Action Day “Arktos 3” carried out in June 2021, law enforcement authorities in seven EU Member States succeeded in seizing more than 6.7 million cigarettes, and 2.6 tonnes of raw tobacco, along with half a tonne of illegal drugs. 15 smugglers were … Read more
EU OLAF Europol Eurojust Frontex Tax Evasion
OLAF Helps Knock Down Rum Smugglers 
29 July 2021 (updated 5 years, 2 months ago)
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
With the support of OLAF, law enforcement authorities in Spain, the Netherlands, Honduras, and Guatemala succeeded in stopping the activities of a criminal group that smuggled fake rum from Central America via the Netherlands to Spain. OLAF reported on 6 July 2021 that the network … Read more
EU OLAF Tax Evasion
OLAF Supported Strike against Illegal Cigarette Production 
29 July 2021 (updated 5 years, 2 months ago)
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
On 22 July 2021, OLAF reported on a successful strike against a criminal network that illegally produced and sold cigarettes. The operation dubbed “Alecrín” mainly involved Spanish and Portuguese law enforcement authorities and already started in 2019. Targeted enforcement activities were carried out between May … Read more
EU OLAF Tax Evasion
Commission Initiates Public Discussion on Tax Avoidance Schemes by Shell Companies 
2 July 2021
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
On 4 June 2021, the Commission launched a public consultation on which action should be taken to curb the use of shell entities or legal arrangements for tax evasion purposes. The Commission points out that the EU has provided powerful instruments to tax administrations in … Read more
EU Tax Evasion
ECtHR Ruled in LuxLeaks Case 
29 June 2021
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
In a judgment of 11 May 2021, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) found no violation of the freedom of expression (Art. 10 ECHR) when courts in Luxembourg convicted an insider that helped bring to light Luxembourgish tax avoidance schemes (widely known as … Read more
Council of Europe EU Fundamental Rights Tax Evasion
OLAF Helps Greek Authorities Seize Nearly 10 Million Contraband Cigarettes 
17 June 2021
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
At the end of May 2021, Greek authorities succeeded in seizing almost 10 million contraband cigarettes. The cigarettes were smuggled from China in suitcases. The action prevented the loss of around €2 million in excise duties and VAT. OLAF supported the operation by alerting the … Read more
EU OLAF Tax Evasion
Council Adopts Amendments to Administrative Tax Cooperation Directive 
12 April 2021
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
On 22 March 2021, the Council adopted amendments to Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation. The amendments aim at improving administrative tax cooperation and countering tax fraud/tax evasion. Read more
EU Tax Evasion
EP Calls for Improvements in Taxation of Online Traders 
20 March 2021
Thomas Wahl Thomas Wahl
On 10 March 2021, the European Parliament (EP) adopted, by a large majority, amendments to the Commission’s draft to amend Directive 201116/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC7). MEPs call for improvements to the tracking and taxation of online sales. According to … Read more
EU Tax Evasion