On March 21, 2023, IOTA successfully live-streamed another impressive online activity from the IOTA Studio in Budapest, Hungary. The digital workshop showcased a very up-to-date topic: "Using data from information exchange in the framework of the OECD BEPS 12 action plan and the EU DAC 6", and brought together an exciting mix of speakers, from our international partner organisation, the European Commission DG TAXUD, along with experts from IOTA member tax administrations. The online event was joined by more than 170 participants from 27 IOTA countries.
The Workshop aimed to share IOTA member tax administrations’ experiences on the practical use of data received through information exchange under BEPS Action 12 and EU DAC 6, as well as challenges and difficulties faced up to now in using the data obtained in risk management and control.
Exchange of information under the BEPS 12 Action Plan and its EU-wide administrative cooperation instrument - the DAC6, obliges taxpayers and advisers to disclose aggressive tax planning schemes to the tax authorities. For this reason, it is very useful to share practices, techniques, and methods used in processing data received from a technical point of view and data exploitation in risk analysis and management.
The Digital Workshop explored the European Commission's perspective as well as brought the latest IOTA member-country experiences from Denmark, Hungary, and Sweden on the use of data from information exchange under the BEPS 12 Action Plan and EU DAC6. In addition, the event supported the wider application of the BEPS 12 recommendations among non-EU countries identifying good practices and difficulties in using data from the BEPS 12 and EU DAC 6 information exchange.
Guest speaker of the IOTA Workshop, European Commission DG TAXUD’s Julien Dodeler, opened the floor for the virtual presentations and updated workshop participants on the “DAC6: A state-of-play from the European Commission's perspective”. During his presentation, he provided some input about the theoretical background of DAC 6 (i.e. purpose, context, key features), as well as initial feedback received from Member States at EU level, and recent developments and next steps. While the next part of the Workshop put the IOTA member countries’ experience in the spotlight where a handful of tax administrations reflected on the topic with the following country presentations:
- Sweden: “Use of data – the Swedish approach” presented by Emma Barrögård;
- Denmark: “Data Quality and Risk Assessment” presented by Jacob Koldig Nielsen;
- Hungary: “DAC 6 Capacity Building and First Experiences of Hungary” presented by Zoltán Vágó.
By sharing country experiences, the IOTA event also addressed:
- communication with taxpayers and intermediaries to raise awareness and clarify requirements of the disclosure
- steps up to now on auditing the compliance of intermediaries subject to the mandatory disclosure rules
- quality checks and effective use of data received through examples or through technical solutions internally introduced
- the role of data from mandatory disclosure within the risk assessment and case selection system
- cooperation with foreign tax administrations (EU and non-EU)
- Ideas to improve DAC6 data
Workshop participants could raise questions during the Q&A session, furthermore, they were actively involved in virtual group discussions and a panel debate during the digital event. Attendees in the Group Discussion reflected on their own experiences related to the Workshop topics, as they also had the opportunity to discuss problems and consider solutions to any outstanding issues through a free exchange of views and opinions.
A special thank goes out to our country experts Emma Barrögård, Sweden; and Jacob Koldig Nielsen, Denmark; along with Zoltán Vágó, Hungary for sharing their expertise and for providing multilayer input in planning, shaping, and making this digital event a success.
This Workshop was moderated by Alexandros Roukalis and Ivana Donchevska, International Taxation Experts of the IOTA Secretariat, and broadcasted live from the IOTA Studio in Budapest, Hungary. All the materials and presentations are already available for registered IOTA website users on the event’s webpage while the recording of the event will be provided soon.
