Implementation of the EU requirements for tax information exchange

The Directive on administrative cooperation (DAC) in the field of taxation provides the basis for information exchange on direct taxation within the EU. This European Implementation Assessment evaluates the implementation of the initial directive and the first three amendments (DAC1-4). Building mainly on interviews with tax administrations and a survey among stakeholders, this publication provides additional evidence on the directive’s effectiveness and external coherence, looking at its interaction with other EU legislation and with tax information frameworks at international level. Despite broad agreement among the institutions and stakeholders on the usefulness of DAC, there is a need for further work in the area of tax information exchange. This study therefore contains a list of detailed recommendations for further improvement to the directive’s effectiveness and coherence, offering a basis for discussions.