Whatever criticism we might wish to level at the EU Commission’s Competition Directorate, we can’t accuse them of being work-shy. Their tax work is now completely eclipsing whatever their colleagues in the Tax and Customs Directorate do, with the news that they are asking another 15 EU Member States for a “substantial number of individual tax rulings”.

This now raises questions on individual rulings offered by the revenue authorities of Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Spain and Sweden. Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and the UK are already being questioned in one shape or form over rulings provided.

There is no reference made in the official statement to the damage being done to individual taxpayers who received the rulings, and presumably followed them in good faith. Nor is there any reference to the consequences for taxpayers who may wish to apply to the revenue authority for a ruling, but wonder if any such future rulings can be relied upon. Nor for that matter is there any acknowledgement that the revenue authorities of the individual countries need to have the authority to do their work, and that questioning their rulings in this way undermines their ability to collect tax in their own countries.

Only Estonia and Poland are arguing against the Commission requests as being disproportionate and in breach of taxpayer confidentiality. Good news though if your tax affairs are handled by the revenue authorities in Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Latvia and Slovenia. The Commission apparently doesn’t have any indications that merit asking those authorities for tax rulings. Yet.