On 8 November 2016, the Council agreed on a proposal granting access for tax authorities to information held by authorities responsible for the prevention of money laundering. The directive will require member states to enable access to information on the beneficial ownership of companies. It will apply as from 1 January 2018. More.

Also, on 8 November 2016, the Council agreed on the criteria and the process for the establishment of an EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions in taxation matters. It adopted conclusions on: 1. criteria for the screening of third country jurisdictions; and 2. guidelines on the process for selecting and screening jurisdictions. More.

As set out in the recent Communication on further measures to enhance transparency and the fight against tax evasion and avoidance, the Commission wants to shed more light on the activities of tax advisers. EC  also wants to reflect on how to build effective deterrents for promoters and enablers of aggressive tax planning schemes and those who use them. 

The Commission is interested in gathering views on how a mandatory disclosure scheme for tax advisers could be put in place. Such rules would oblige intermediaries to give early information on schemes which could be viewed as aggressive or abusive planning for tax purposes and would reflect the goals of the OECD's non-binding guidelines (BEPS Action 12) for the disclosure of aggressive tax planning strategies. This public consultation will help to decide whether it is appropriate to introduce binding rules at the EU level and, if so, what the most legal suitable legal instrument should be. The public consultation will run until 16 February. More.