KPMG member firms in the EU have today, February 16, 2017, submitted a response to the European Commission’s public consultation on disincentives for advisors and intermediaries for potentially aggressive tax planning schemes. Given the importance and complexity of the issues involved, in addition to responding directly to the online questionnaire in the consultation, KPMG member firms in the EU have submitted further comments and explanations in a separate paper. The responses to the questionnaire (PDF 166 KB) can be read and the explanatory paper can be read.

The possibility of introducing disincentives for intermediaries involved in tax avoidance and tax evasion schemes was put forward by the Council in May 2016 in the context of its external tax strategy, and was inspired by the OECD’s BEPS action 12 report on mandatory disclosure regimes. The European Parliament has also been focusing attention on the role of intermediaries in the context of tax avoidance and evasion, in particular through their ECON, TAXE I and II, and PANA committees. The European Commission announced its public consultation on November 10, 2016, with the aim of gathering views on whether there is a need for EU action aimed at introducing more effective disincentives for intermediaries engaged in operations that facilitate tax evasion and tax avoidance and in case there is, how they should be designed. The policy options range from no EU-level action to various disclosure schemes and an EU Code of Conduct. The deadline for providing comments on the consultation is February 16, 2017.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact KPMG’s EU Tax Centre, or, as appropriate, your local KPMG tax advisor.

Chris Scott
KPMG EMA Region Head of Tax
Partner, KPMG LLP

Chris Morgan
Head of Global Tax Policy
KPMG International

Robert van der Jagt
Chairman, KPMG’s EU Tax Centre
Partner, Meijburg & Co