The proposal amends directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of direct taxation to bring interest, dividends and other income, as well as account balances and sales proceeds from financial assets, within the scope of the automatic exchange of information.

Directive 2011/16/EU already provides a framework for mutual assistance between the member states by setting out the details to be specified in requests for information on taxpayers, and preventing requests from being refused on grounds of bank secrecy.

It also provides for the mandatory automatic exchange of information on certain categories of income held by taxpayers in member states other than their state of residence and sets out a step-by-step approach for extending this provision to new categories of income and capital.

The new directive will be adopted at a forthcoming Council meeting but is subject to consultation.

President of the Council, Pier Carlo Padoan, said the EU move to implement the new global standard on automatic exchange of information developed by the OECD and endorsed by the G20 is ‘a major step towards greater transparency marking the end of bank secrecy in tax matters in the European Union’, and shows the EU’s commitment to being ‘at the forefront of the fight against cross-border tax fraud and evasion’.