Supporting European Union cooperation in the field of taxation: Fiscalis (2021–2027)

KEY POINTS

The legislation’s general objectives are to support tax authorities and taxation to:

• enhance the internal market;
• foster EU competitiveness and fair competition in the EU;
• protect EU and national financial and economic interests, including against tax fraud, evasion and avoidance;
• improve tax collection.

The programme’s specific objectives are to:

• support tax policy and the implementation of EU law relating to taxation;
• foster cooperation between tax authorities, including the exchange of tax information;
• support administrative capacity building, including as regards human competency and the development and operation of European electronic systems.

The 7-year budget to implement the programme is €269 million (current prices). This can:

• cover a range of activities, such as expenses for programme management-related activities, studies, meetings of experts, information and communication actions, information technology networks and technical and administrative assistance;
• finance up to 100% of a project’s eligible costs;
• provide funding, in particular through grants, prizes, procurement and reimbursement of expenses of external experts;
• support activities already financed from other EU funding sources, providing that the different contributions do not cover the same costs.

The programme is open to the participation of non-EU countries, subject to certain conditions. In particular, these countries must allow access to the European Court of Auditors and the European Anti-Fraud Office, which may carry out investigations, including on-the-spot checks and inspections, to protect the EU’s finances. External experts – such as those from non-EU countries not associated with the programme, including least-developed countries – may participate in the programme’s actions.

Activities eligible for funding include:

• meetings and similar ad hoc events;
• project-based collaboration;
• IT capacity building, in particular the development and operation of European electronic systems;
• human competency building and other capacity-building actions;
• supporting measures, such as studies and innovation activities, in particular proofs of concept, pilot projects and communication actions.

Annex III identifies possible priorities:

• implementing EU tax law, staff training, administrative cooperation and recovery of claims;
• exchanging information, improving its use and developing standard IT formats;
• supporting digitalisation and updating methodologies in tax authorities;
• sharing of best practices, especially to combat value added tax fraud.

The European Commission and the EU Member States:

• jointly develop and operate the European electronic systems;
• establish and keep up to date a multiannual strategic plan for taxation (MASP-T), which:
  • lists all relevant tasks, such as design, conformance testing, deployment, maintenance, security and quality control for the European electronic systems,
  • classifies which components are EU specific, Member State specific (national) or a combination of the two,
  • covers innovation, pilot actions and supporting methodologies and tools.

The Commission:

• adopts multiannual work programmes by means of implementing acts;
• draws up a public annual report, no later than 31 October, based on regular and annual reports from Member States, on progress – measured by the indicators in Annex II – in implementing the MASP-T;
• provides an interim evaluation of the programme no later than 4 years after its start and a final evaluation within the same time frame of its completion to the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, the European Economic and Social Committee and the European Committee of the Regions;
• may adopt implementing and delegated acts;
• is supported by the Fiscalis Programme Committee.

Annex II lists indicators to report on the progress towards the achievement of the programme’s specific objectives. Additional indicators, aimed at measuring the outputs, results and impacts of the programme, have been introduced by Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2300 of 30 August 2022 establishing a monitoring and evaluation framework for the Fiscalis programme.

The legislation requires:

• recipients of EU funding to acknowledge their source and provide effective and targeted information on their activities and results to audiences ranging from the media to the public;
• the Commission to conduct information and communication actions about the programme.

The regulation:

• repeals Regulation (EU) No 1286/2013 setting up Fiscalis 2020 from 1 January 2021;
• allows activities under Regulation (EU) No 1286/2013 to continue until their closure.