EU Taxation: Call for Evidence on Simplifying Direct Taxation Rules
Summary
The European Commission has launched a call for evidence to gather feedback on simplifying EU direct taxation rules. The initiative aims to streamline corporate tax directives and reduce administrative burdens for businesses, with feedback requested until March 16, 2026.
What changed
The European Commission, through its Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union, has initiated a call for evidence regarding the simplification of EU direct taxation rules. This consultation is part of a broader effort to reduce administrative burdens and enhance business competitiveness, with a planned omnibus directive on direct taxation by June 2026. The initiative seeks feedback on the necessity of action and evidence concerning administrative costs, burdensome procedures, outdated or overlapping rules, and interpretation discrepancies across key corporate tax directives, including the Interest and Royalties Directive, Tax Merger Directive, Parent-Subsidiary Directive, Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive, and Tax Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Directive.
All stakeholders, including Member States, public authorities, business associations, multinational enterprises, SMEs, NGOs, civil society organizations, and academia, are invited to provide their views. The deadline for submitting feedback is March 16, 2026. The outcomes of this consultation will inform the development of the proposed omnibus directive, which aims to cut red tape and improve the EU's legislative framework for corporate taxation. While this is a consultation and not yet a binding rule, the feedback gathered will directly shape future legislative proposals, potentially leading to significant changes in compliance requirements for businesses operating within the EU.
What to do next
- Review the call for evidence on simplifying EU direct taxation rules.
- Submit feedback on administrative burdens, procedural issues, and rule clarity by March 16, 2026.
- Assess potential impacts of future omnibus directive on corporate tax compliance.
Source document (simplified)
The European Commission’s Political Guidelines set out the objective of making business easier and faster in the EU by reducing administrative burdens and simplifying implementation. The Commission has set targets to reduce the administrative burden by at least 25% for all businesses and by at least 35% for SMEs by the end of the mandate.
In this context, and as outlined in the 2026 Commission work programme, the European Commission intends to propose an omnibus directive in direct taxation by June 2026, with the aim to streamline, enhance and clarify the corporate tax directives (Interest and Royalties Directive (Council Directive 2003/49/EC), the Tax Merger Directive (Council Directive 2009/133/EC), the Parent-Subsidiary Directive (Council Directive 2011/96/EU)), the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (Council Directive (EU) 2016/1164) and the Tax Dispute Resolution Mechanisms Directive (Council Directive 2017/1852).
This omnibus on taxation will be an integral part of the Commission’s efforts to simplify EU law and will cut red tape for businesses, in order to boost competitiveness and improve the functioning of the EU legislative framework for corporate taxation.
As part of this initiative, on 16 February 2026, the European Commission launched a call for evidence to gather feedback on the need for action, and collect evidence on issues such as administrative costs, burdensome procedures, outdated or overlapping rules, and any lack of clarity or differences in how rules are interpreted.
All stakeholders concerned are invited to share their views, including Member States and public authorities, business associations, multinational enterprise groups, SME groups, non-governmental and civil society organisations as well as academia.
You are encouraged to provide feedback on this initiative until 16 March 2026 here:
Simplifying EU rules on direct taxation – omnibus
Details
Publication date 24 February 2026 Author Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union
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