Assessment of Taxes in Cross-Border Situations: The New EU Directive on Administrative Cooperation in the Field of Taxation

Abstract

This article discusses a recently adopted European Union (EU) Directive that, from 1 January 2013, will gradually introduce important changes to the EU regulatory framework on cross-border mutual assistance in the assessment of taxes. The new Directive broadens the scope of mutual assistance and improves its efficiency, notably as regards information exchange on request and automatic exchange of information. It also introduces comitology for the first time in the area of direct taxation.