As part of the fight against tax evasion the Commission adopted an action plan back in December 2012 which set out proposals to strengthen this fight. The creation of an EU Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) was one of 34 measures contained in the Action Plan.

84 responses were received with 80 being published by the Commission.

According to the Commission, TINs are the best method of identifying taxpayers under automatic exchange of information, especially those engaged in cross border operations. The Commission commented on the fact that national TINs are built according to national rules which differ significantly and as such, make it difficult for third parties to identify foreign TINs. The creation of a EU TIN is seen as a solution to this problem.

For details on this consultation see the Commission website.