Better cooperation against tax fraud and evasion

This briefing analyses the strengths and weaknesses of the IA accompanying the Commission proposal on better cooperation in the area of taxation of digital platform sellers’ revenues. The IA’s strengths are an overall good problem definition, solid research quality and full transparency regarding the scarcity of relevant data, as well as regarding the methods and assumptions underlying the analysis. Weaknesses concern the objectives of the initiative, which could have been more specific, and the presentation of the policy options, which lacks clarity and structure. The IA mainly assesses the economic impacts of the actions under the preferred legislative option, concluding that the benefits would significantly exceed the costs. Social and environmental effects are considered briefly, the former namely in terms of tax fairness and transparency, as well as data protection safeguards.