EBF Tax Conference 2024: “Banks as Taxpayers and as Auxiliaries to Tax Authorities in the Digital Era”
BRUSSELS, 5 April 2024 – On 23 January 2024, the European Banking Federation (EBF), in collaboration with sponsors Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PwC, held a landmark event on Banks as Taxpayers and as Auxiliaries to Authorities in the Digital Era. The conference brought together leading experts and policymakers to discuss developments in the EU tax landscape and associated implications for financial institutions and financial markets. Leveraging the expertise of distinguished panellists and moderators, including top EU and international policymakers, as well as industry experts, the conference explored the role of banks in tax processes in the digital era and discussed pertinent policy questions ahead of the next EU legislature.
In active exchanges between policymakers and industry experts, speakers included Philip Kerfs from the OECD, Marc Clercx and Henrik Paulander from the European Commission, Mervi Kujanpää from the Finnish Tax Administration, and Christian Schleithof from the German Ministry of Finance.
Key topics addressed at the conference included:
- The effectiveness of tax authorities in addressing tax obstacles to cross-border investment;
- The Finnish experience: Lessons learnt from the application of the OECD standards (TRACE) to withholding tax procedures;
- The potential and challenges presented by FASTER in efforts to modernise withholding tax procedures in the EU;
- The connections between tax reporting and withholding tax procedures with blockchain, datamining, AI, and other innovative tools;
- Best practices for finding the correct balance between fighting tax evasion and data protection;
- Reflections on a decade of Automatic Exchange of Information and Assessment of existing DACs;
- Pressures on banks’ profitability and associated financial stability risks from banking sector specific taxes.
The conference facilitated a unique mix of insight from policymakers, experts, and industry professionals. The EBF would like to thank its sponsors, speakers, moderators and attendees for their participation that made the event possible and such a success. It presented an excellent opportunity for industry engagement, with many fruitful conversations and insights accompanying those provided by the stellar panellists and moderators. The accompanying follow-up paper for the conference details these key debates and insights from the day.
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For more information please contact:
Roger Kaiser
Head of Tax and Compliance, r.kaiser@ebf.eu
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About the EBF
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from 45 countries. The EBF is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses and innovators everywhere. Website: www.ebf.eu Twitter: @EBFeu.
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EBF joint financial industry submission on the Proposal for a Directive on Faster and Safer Relief of Excess Withholding Taxes (FASTER)
BRUSSELS, 26 February 2024 – This response complements the joint financial industry submission on the FASTER proposal made by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME), the Association of Global Custodians (AGC), and the European Banking Federation (EBF) on 20 February 2024.
The industry welcomes efforts aimed at streamlining withholding tax procedures. The FASTER proposal was formulated with the objective of making withholding tax procedures more efficient and secure for investors, financial intermediaries, and governments regarding cross border investments. Another key driver behind the proposal is the combatting of tax fraud and abuse, in particular in the form of dividend stripping schemes such as cum ex and cum cum schemes. These efforts are strongly supported.
However, whilst the current proposal undoubtedly contains positive elements, several significant concerns remain. The new rules undoubtedly impose additional compliance burdens on financial intermediaries. Not only will they have to comply with new registration requirements, but they will also face significant new reporting obligations and due diligence requirements.
The accompanying submission reiterates the key concerns of the industry, supplementing and updating the EBF’s submission on the matter made in September 2023.
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For more information please contact:
Roger Kaiser
Head of Tax and Compliance, r.kaiser@ebf.eu
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About the EBF
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from 45 countries. The EBF is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses and innovators everywhere. Website: www.ebf.eu Twitter: @EBFeu.
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]]>FROM THE EUROPEAN BANKING FEDERATION
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BANKS SUPPORT FIGHT AGAINST FINANCIAL FRAUD & CRIME
BRUSSELS, 27 March 2019 – The European Banking Federation takes note of the detailed and comprehensive European Parliament’s Report on financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance. On this occasion, the EBF would like to reiterate its full support to the fight against tax fraud and financial crime.
Transparency of taxpayers and investors is a pivotal theme in the Report. Banks play a key role in this field; by reporting information on accountholders to tax authorities and by providing Financial Intelligence Units with suspicious transaction reports, as required by applicable regulations.
The EBF would like to emphasize the significant investments made by the banking sector to comply with the relevant international standards in the area of tax reporting and anti-money laundering. However, the EBF agrees that the efficiency and the administrability of the current EU framework could be improved and should be better aligned on international standards. The recent money laundering cases are a sad demonstration of this situation.
In the area of anti-money laundering the EBF strongly supports better cooperation between authorities and financial institutions, both domestically and cross-border.
The EBF strongly supports alignment with international standards. Accordingly, the EBF notes and welcomes the acknowledgement in the Report that the indicators referred to in the 5th revision of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation (DAC6) should be clarified in accordance with international standards. Earlier this month, the EBF and AFME published joint recommendations which could help improve the implementation of DAC6 by financial institutions. Another very useful tool to enhance the efficiency and administrability of international tax procedures applicable to investment income could consist in the implementation of a withholding tax relief at source system inspired by the OECD implementation package of “TRACE”.
Media contact:
Raymond Frenken, Head of Communications, +32 2 508 3748, r.frenken@ebf.eu
About the EBF:
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from 45 countries. The EBF is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses and innovators everywhere. Website: www.ebf.eu Twitter: @EBFeu.
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]]>Stepping up the fight against money laundering
BRUSSELS, 24 July 2019 – Given today’s adoption by the European Commission of a Communication and four reports designed to support European and national authorities in better addressing money laundering and terrorist financing risks, the European Banking Federation reiterated the following:
The European banking sector is fully committed in the fight against money-laundering and financial crime. For this fight to be effective we need to reduce fragmentation between national approaches while increasing cross-border cooperation in-and-outside the European Union.
The recent AML problems also constitute an opportunity to try to really improve the efficiency of the system through better cooperation, including information sharing, between the public and private sectors with the purpose of arresting more criminals. The EBF is currently discussing possible improvement with relevant stakeholders, including the European Commission and Europol.
Communication by the European Commission – Better implementation of the EU’s anti-money laundering and counter terrorist framework
For background: Europol European Banking Authority
Media contact:
Raymond Frenken, Head of Communications, +32 474 98 13 32, r.frenken@ebf.eu
About the EBF:
The European Banking Federation is the voice of the European banking sector, bringing together national banking associations from 45 countries. The EBF is committed to a thriving European economy that is underpinned by a stable, secure and inclusive financial ecosystem, and to a flourishing society where financing is available to fund the dreams of citizens, businesses and innovators everywhere. Website: www.ebf.eu Twitter: @EBFeu.
Subscribe to the EBF Weekly + FinReg Agenda
Every Friday at noon you can receive the EBF Weekly + Financial Regulation Agenda. This agenda presents an overview of upcoming European and international meetings and conferences in financial regulation, as well as important general financial and economic events and key EBF meetings for the week ahead. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE
Subscribe to the EBF Morning Brief
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]]>EBF advisor: Roger Kaiser
Publication date: 06 March 2019
Executive summary
Digital taxation is a relevant issue in the context of the current economic environment and has been included in the work of the OECD/G2O Inclusive Framework on the BEPS project since its elaboration in 2013. In its comments on the OECD consultation on digital taxation, the EBF supports the continuing efforts of the OECD in addressing this topic. We agree on the need to revisit the challenges that arise from digitalisation in the current international taxation framework and to adapt the rules that would apply in an international level, allowing jurisdictions to tax in a fair and efficient manner the profits that derive from both “old” and “new” business models.
The existing corporate tax framework adequately captures profits earned by financial institutions, irrespectively of the specific activities through which they are generated. Any elaboration in the field of the taxation of the Digital Economy should focus on value creation that is not captured by the current tax framework. The EBF takes the view that the project launched by the OECD on the taxation of new types of business models should be limited to having a better understanding of companies with highly digitalised business models, where the traditional principles of value creation and profit allocation do not apply.
EBF contact:
Roger Kaiser, Senior Policy Adviser Tax & Crime, r.kaiser@ebf.eu, +32 2 508 37 11
Iliana Koutoulakou Policy Adviser, i.koutoulakou@ebf.eu, +32 2 508 37 45
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]]>Publication date: 17 February 2017
Dear Minister,
I am writing to you as Chief Executive of the European Banking Federation (EBF) which is the voice of European banks, in relation to the recent extension of the territorial scope of the Belgian stock exchange tax (taxe sur les opérations de bourse / taks op de beursverrichtingen) (hereinafter referred to as the “Tax”).
Per the Belgian Finance Law of 25 December 2016, the scope of the Tax is extended, as from 1 January 2017, to securities transactions made by Belgian residents through intermediaries established abroad. This extension is of direct relevance for banks established outside Belgium and executing securities transactions for the account of Belgian residents.
In the absence of any detailed guidance, European banks will have practical difficulties to comply with the related requirements in such unrealistic timeframe.
In view of the background which is detailed in the appendix, I would like to present you with the three following suggestions.
The framework and practical arrangements applicable for the collection and payment of the Tax regarding transactions performed by foreign intermediaries need to be confirmed as soon as possible. This would essentially entail a clarification of the options offered to foreign intermediaries under Belgian law, as well as the obligations related to such options.
The executive orders (French: arrêtés royaux) required in order to confirm the formalities for the appointment of a representative in Belgium as well as the format and content of the information to be reported in the relevant tax returns should be adopted forthwith.
Last but not least, more time is required by foreign intermediaries to understand the scope of the Belgian legislation at hand and to make the necessary adaptations in their systems and procedures. Pending a clarification of the points mentioned in the appendix, an adequate transitional relief should be allowed for foreign intermediaries and their clients as regards the filing of the relevant returns and the effective payment of the Tax. During any such transitional relief period, we recommend that transactions made by foreign 2 www.ebf.eu intermediaries should not trigger any penalties under Belgian law in case of late payment of the Tax and/or late remittance of the related returns to the competent Belgian authority.
Considering the reliefs and postponements usually granted by other countries regarding the implementation of tax measures targeting non-resident intermediaries, we trust that the above suggestions are more than reasonable.
We would very much welcome your position regarding these matters at your earliest convenience. We remain at your disposal either by conference call or in the framework of a meeting in Brussels.
Yours sincerely,
Wim MIJS
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Every Friday at noon you can receive the EBF Weekly + Financial Regulation Agenda. This agenda presents an overview of upcoming European and international meetings and conferences in financial regulation, as well as important general financial and economic events and key EBF meetings for the week ahead. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE
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The EBF Morning Brief is published Monday through Friday morning and brings you the top banking headlines, relevant announcements from the EU institutions and the latest from the EBF and its members, national banking associations in 32 countries in Europe. CLICK HERE TO SUBSCRIBE
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