Simplifying Tax Rules a Major Priority, EU Official Says

Tax simplification is “a top priority” for the European Union, a senior EU official said Thursday, as the bloc prepares a comprehensive plan to reduce the complexity of its tax rules.

“We have a big simplification package that will come out this summer,” said Gerassimos Thomas, the European Commission’s director general for tax, speaking at the 2026 DC Bar Tax Conference in Washington. Simple tax systems “are good for the economy,” he said.

Europe is evaluating its existing tax rules to identify redundancies and look for places to simplify rules or eliminate them altogether. The European Commission has promised to ...