Join forces to root out tax avoidance, governments told

European governments should co-ordinate their efforts to root out tax avoidance, which costs them around €1 trillion every year, the EU’s executive body said yesterday.

The European Commission said member states need to share information better, introduce an EU-wide tax identification number and devise common criteria for black-listing tax havens.

The proposals were part of an action plan detailed by Algirdas Semeta, the taxation policy commissioner, to deal with inventive and increasingly common tactics used by big companies and others to reduce their tax bills.