Tax cooperation: European Parliament strengthens information exchange between Member States

In brief

On 12 February 2025, the European Parliament adopted a legislative resolution aimed at strengthening administrative cooperation between EU Member States in tax matters. This decision, taken by 608 votes in favour, 33 against and 8 abstentions, amends Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation.

Background

Directive 2011/16/EU establishes rules for the exchange of information between tax authorities of EU countries. The European Commission proposal (COM(2024)0497) aimed to improve this exchange to more effectively combat tax fraud, tax evasion and aggressive tax planning. Parliament was consulted under the special legislative procedure (CNS).

What Parliament decided

The European Parliament approved the Commission proposal with amendments. It notably calls for:

• An extension of the scope of automatic exchange of information to new categories of income and assets, such as crypto-assets and income from digital platforms.
• Strengthened monitoring and follow-up mechanisms to ensure that Member States comply with their exchange obligations.
• Better protection of taxpayers' personal data, with enhanced safeguards.
• Harmonisation of exchange deadlines and formats to simplify procedures.

The rapporteur, Aurore Lalucq (S&D, France), stressed that these measures will reduce opportunities for tax fraud and evasion, while respecting citizens' fundamental rights.

Vote result

The text was adopted by a large majority: 608 votes in favour, 33 against and 8 abstentions. This result shows a strong consensus among political groups, although some expressed reservations about the impact on businesses.

For citizens

This reform aims to make the tax system fairer and more transparent. Concretely, it should enable tax authorities to better detect undeclared income, particularly that generated via digital platforms or crypto-assets. For honest citizens, this means fairer tax competition between Member States and a reduction in inequalities. In the long term, better tax cooperation can also help finance public services more efficiently.

The next step is the examination of the text by the Council of the EU, which will have to decide by unanimity. Parliament has invited the Council to take its amendments into account to strengthen the fight against tax fraud in the EU.