The Commission adopted on 27th June 2012 a Communication on the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion. An Action Plan which details concrete proposals to strengthen the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion was adopted on the 6th of December 2012.

One of the 34 measures contained in the Action Plan is the creation of a European Taxpayer Identification Number (EU TIN) which is described as follows (action 22):

"TINs are considered as providing the best means of identifying taxpayers under automatic exchange of information. The national TINs are however built according to national rules which differ considerably and make it difficult for third parties (financial institutions, employers, other) to correctly identify and register foreign TINs and for the tax authorities to report back this information to the other tax jurisdictions.

The creation of an EU TIN might constitute the best solution to overcome the current difficulties faced by Member States in properly identifying all their taxpayers (natural and non-natural persons) engaged in cross border operations. Whether this could be a unique EU number or the addition of an EU identifier to existing national TINs is an issue which should be further explored, as should be explored links with the other existing EU registration and identification systems.

Although the concept of an EU TIN is simple, its implementation is a complex issue which calls for a step-by-step approach. A public consultation will be launched by March 2013. The presentation of a subsequent legislative proposal requires further in-depth studies and the strong support of the Member States. As a first step, a possibility would be to further develop the "TIN on EUROPA" portal, by making it possible to check the validity of national TINs by linking this application with Member States' databases."

The Commission services are launching this public consultation in order to collect the opinions of all interested stakeholders on the creation of an EU Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN). The Commission is seeking to collect information on the possible scope of an EU TIN (both in terms of operations and taxpayers covered), its practical aspects (including possible simplification and a step-by-step approach), its design and functioning, as well as various legal considerations (a.o. data protection).

The views expressed by the contributors will be used by the Commission services to identify the appropriate approach to the creation of an EU TIN and to develop the appropriate policy response. The contributions may also be used in the possible preparation of the relating impact assessment.
 

Full and submission details

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/common/consultations/tax/2013_eutin_en.htm

The Commission adopted on 27^th June 2012 a Communication on the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion. An Action Plan which details concrete proposals to strengthen the fight against tax fraud and tax evasion was adopted on 6th December 2012.

One of the 34 measures contained in the Action Plan is the development of a European Taxpayer's Code which is described as follows (action 17):

"In order to improve tax compliance, the Commission will compile good administrative practices in Member States to develop a taxpayer's code setting out best practices for enhancing cooperation, trust and confidence between tax administrations and taxpayers, for ensuring greater transparency on the rights and obligations of taxpayers and encouraging a service-oriented approach.

The Commission will launch a public consultation on this at the beginning of 2013. By improving relations between taxpayers and tax administrations, enhancing transparency of tax rules, reducing the risk of mistakes with potentially severe consequences for taxpayers and encouraging tax compliance, encouraging Member States' administrations to apply a taxpayer's code will help to contribute to more effective tax collection."

The Commission services are launching this public consultation in order to collect the opinions of all interested stakeholders on the development of a European Taxpayer's Code. The questions first aim at assessing the knowledge about and the concrete experience with national taxpayer's codes (when they exist). Stakeholders are then invited to give their views on the general and procedural principles to be considered in the context of the development of a European Taxpayer's Code. Finally, contributions are asked on additional topics which could be seen as a natural extension of the fundamental principles, rights and obligations of a Taxpayer's Code.

The views expressed by the contributors will be used by Commission services to identify the appropriate content of a European Taxpayer's Code and develop the appropriate policy response. The contributions may also be used in the preparation of possible impact assessments in relation to the Action Plan and more generally the policy area concerned.

Full Details http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/common/consultations/tax/2013_tpcode_en.htm

Submit your suggestions here: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/admin-burdens-reduction/form_en.htm 

Each suggestion will be examined by the Commission. Every three months the Commission will prepare a summary of these suggestions and an overall feedback. This will be published on this site.