Unshell Will Complicate EU Efforts to Clarify, Tax Advisers Warn

Tax advisers caution the European Commission’s aim to simplify its tax code may be complicated by proposed provisions to curb tax avoidance via shell companies.

“Addressing abusive shell entities is a legitimate policy objective, but it must not come at the expense of legal certainty or taxpayers’ rights,” said Aleksandar Ivanovski, director for CFE, a trade association representing tax advisers.

The upcoming revision of the EU’s exchange-of-tax-information law is focused on simplification—removing duplicate, redundant, and overlapping rules and making the tax code simpler. But the commission last month said it’s also working to include new provisions meant to ...