The European Semester is an annual exercise that coordinates the EU's economic and social policies. During the Semester, EU Member States align their budgetary and economic policies with the objectives and rules agreed upon at EU level.
By achieving stronger economic and social coordination, the European Semester aims to ensure sustainable economic growth, job creation, macroeconomic stability and sound public finances across the EU.
More about the European Semester
Taxation is one of the key policies monitored through the European Semester. Accordingly, the Directorate-General for Taxation and Customs Union (DG TAXUD)
Tax priorities
The tax priorities for the European semester include:
- Tapping into underused sources of taxation and stepping up taxpayer compliance. This can help ensure sufficient tax revenues to support public investment as well as help achieve common policy objectives and safeguard fiscal sustainability.
- A balanced and more future-proof tax mix based on means-testing and distributional impact assessments. This will support the delivery of inclusive and sustainable growth. It includes shifting some of the tax burden from labour taxation towards environmental and recurrent immovable property taxation in a fair and efficient manner, for instance by strengthening the polluter-pays principle.
- Effective tools to fight aggressive tax planning strategies and improved tax compliance. This helps ensure that taxpayers are fairly treated, the funding of public services is efficient and private investment is supported.
- Continued modernisation and digitalisation of tax administrations. This should further reduce compliance costs and boost tax revenue.