The European Tech Alliance (EUTA) welcomes the European Commission’s recast of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation in the field of taxation (DACs), an important step towards a simpler, smarter and more proportionate tax reporting framework for European tech companies.
EUTA has long called for a simpler EU taxation rulebook that cuts compliance costs without lowering standards. In that field, European tech companies face overlapping obligations, divergent national rules and expanding reporting demands: over half of European startups identify compliance as the single biggest threat to their operations, and two-thirds cite tax compliance as a major brake on growth. Today’s recast of the DACs is a move in the right direction.
We particularly welcome the deletion of the transaction-count threshold and increase of the monetary thresholds for the sale of goods through online platforms. This change will ensure reporting focuses on more actionable information for tax authorities, while easing the burden on platforms and occasional sellers.
Additionally, EUTA applauds the clear commitment by the European Commission towards further harmonisation. Moving to a more consolidated, coherent EU-wide approach to taxation reporting is essential to end fragmentation, ensure legal certainty, and let European companies build a single compliance system instead of 27.
However, further simplification would be needed to deliver genuinely effective tax reporting. For the EU rulebook to fit together like a puzzle, DACs-related reporting should run in coordination with other reporting schemes such as the Digital Services Act and Short-Term-Rentals regulation. Effective and meaningful reporting also goes through a reduction of the number of data points collected on sellers, to streamline data collection. We hope to see them addressed by the Member States – as this would reduce burden for platform and small suppliers.
EUTA looks forward to working with the Council and the Commission, in consultation with the European Parliament to ensure the final text delivers a smarter and simpler European taxation rulebook that doesn’t lower standards.
The following can be attributed to Guénolé Carré, EUTA Policy Officer:
“Changes included in the DAC recast are genuine wins for proportionality. But harmonisation only pays off if it also ends the duplication between EU and national reporting regimes, backed by a single EU verification system and consistent enforcement for all platforms, including from third-country.”
The following can be attributed to Victoria de Posson, EUTA Secretary General:
“European tech companies have a role to play when it comes to tax reporting. With this recast, the Commission shows that compliance doesn’t have to mean complexity. Higher thresholds and a commitment to harmonisation are exactly the kind of smarter rulebook our innovators need to scale.”
