At the 32nd Session of the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, held in New York from 23 to 26 March 2026, attendees focused on the review and approval of subcommittee workplans that will guide the Committee’s work over the coming years, with a continued emphasis on p
BRUSSELS | 30 MARCH 2026
UN Tax Committee Endorses Subcommittee Workplans Across Key Areas of International Tax Policy
At the 32nd Session of the UN Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters, held in New York from 23 to 26 March 2026, attendees focused on the review and approval of subcommittee workplans that will guide the Committee’s work over the coming years, with a continued emphasis on practical guidance tailored to developing countries. The Committee also advanced work on the UN Model Tax Convention and the Manual for Negotiation of Bilateral Tax Treaties, with structured multi-year workstreams addressing issues such as the subject-to-tax rule, source rules and permanent establishment concepts, as well as practical treaty negotiation challenges. The Committee approved a workplan of the Subcommittee on Transfer Pricing, which will update the 2021 UN Transfer Pricing Manual and develop new guidance on sector-specific issues and unilateral advance pricing agreements. The work will address areas including intragroup services, intangibles, financial transactions, simplification measures and country risk adjustments. In 2026, the Subcommittee will begin revising key chapters of the Manual and initiate work on ICT sector guidance, with progress to be reported at subsequent sessions. The Subcommittee on the Digitalised and Globalised Economy will undertake a two-phase programme of work. The first phase will evaluate the application of the 2025 UN Model provisions on services permanent establishments and digital services, including their interaction with emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence and the internet of things. The second phase will develop a practical implementation guide for use in treaty negotiations and domestic law. Work in 2026 will focus on preparing the Phase 1 evaluation report, expected to be presented for approval by October 2026. In the area of tax administration and artificial intelligence, the Committee approved a workplan to develop a practical guide covering AI use cases in tax administrations, including fraud detection, risk assessment and taxpayer services, as well as governance frameworks and safeguards addressing bias, integrity and data confidentiality. In 2026, work will focus on developing the structure and initial content of the guide, including identifying key use cases and responsible AI enablers. The Committee also approved a workplan on wealth taxation, which will build on the 2025 UN Handbook on Wealth and Solidarity Taxes through the development of a new Handbook on the Taxation of High-Net-Worth Individuals. This will cover policy design, administrative approaches, international coordination and transparency issues. During 2026, the Subcommittee will define the scope, structure and key themes of the handbook and begin analytical work. The Subcommittee on Indirect Taxes will develop practical guidance on VAT design and administration across four core workstreams covering the digitalised economy, VAT fraud prevention, cross-border dispute resolution and the VAT treatment of financial services, with additional work on VAT regressivity. Initial scoping and prioritisation of these workstreams will take place in 2026. In relation to extractive industries taxation, the Committee endorsed a workplan to develop practical guidance on the valuation and value-addition of critical minerals, addressing challenges such as price volatility, opaque markets, related-party transactions and administrative capacity constraints. The work is structured across four areas: economic context, tax-relevant characteristics, tax administration, and value chain considerations. In 2026, the Subcommittee will finalise the outline and prepare the first draft of the introductory section for discussion, while also initiating a parallel workstream to monitor developments in energy-transition taxation, including carbon pricing and carbon capture. The Committee further approved work on environmental taxation, which will develop guidance on carbon taxes and related instruments, including issues such as aviation emissions, land-based resources, equity impacts and the interaction with international legal obligations. Work in 2026 will focus on advancing the priority workstreams and refining outputs building on earlier UN guidance. Additional workstreams on tax and gender and dispute avoidance and resolution will also commence in 2026, focusing on developing analytical frameworks and monitoring ongoing international developments. Across the workstreams, outputs are expected to include handbooks, practical guides and updates to existing UN instruments, with an emphasis on coordination across subcommittees. The 33rd Session will take place from 20 to 23 October 2026 in Geneva, with the 34th Session tentatively scheduled for 5 to 8 April 2027 in New York.
Council & Parliament Reach Agreement for EU Customs Framework Reform
The Council and the European Parliament have reached a provisional political agreement on a comprehensive reform of the EU customs framework, representing the most significant overhaul since the establishment of the Customs Union in 1968. The reform aims to modernise customs processes in response to increasing trade volumes, particularly in e-commerce, the expansion of EU regulatory requirements at the border, and shifting geopolitical and economic security challenges. A central feature of the reform is the creation of a single EU customs data hub, which will provide a unified digital platform for the submission and analysis of customs data. Businesses will submit information once via this portal, replacing the current system of interacting with multiple national authorities. The hub is intended to enhance data quality, traceability and EU-wide risk management, while enabling national authorities to access real-time information on trade flows and coordinate responses more effectively. It will become operational for e-commerce goods from 1 July 2028, with full rollout to all goods movements by 1 March 2034. The reform also provides for the creation of a new decentralised EU Customs Authority, which will support and coordinate the work of national customs administrations. The authority will oversee the functioning of the data hub and contribute to risk analysis by identifying high-risk consignments for inspection. It will also play a role in defining EU-level risk criteria, establishing priority control areas and coordinating responses in crisis situations affecting customs. The authority will be headquartered in Lille, France, and is expected to employ approximately 250 staff. Its establishment forms part of broader efforts to strengthen governance and consistency within the Customs Union. The updated Customs framework introduces a new category of “trust and check” traders, allowing highly compliant businesses to benefit from simplified procedures and, in some cases, the release of goods without active customs intervention, complementing the existing authorised economic operator regime. In response to the growth in low-value e-commerce consignments, the legislation provides for a new EU-wide handling fee on small parcels, to be set by the Commission and applied by Member States by November 2026. It also clarifies that online platforms and distance sellers are to be treated as the importer of record, making them responsible for customs compliance and payment of duties, and introduces financial penalties for systematic non-compliance. The co-legislators will now finalise technical elements of the package ahead of formal adoption, after which the legislation will apply 12 months following publication in the Official Journal.
CFE Forum 2026 : "Tax Policy Under Pressure: Strategy, Coherence & Trade-Offs" on 23 April 2026
The CFE Forum 2026 will take place on 23 April 2026 in Brussels under the theme “Tax Policy Under Pressure: Strategy, Coherence & Trade-Offs.” The Forum will examine how tax systems are responding to a range of structural pressures, including geopolitical tensions, renewed trade measures, increased cross-border mobility and evolving compliance and anti-money laundering frameworks. The programme will feature three panel discussions addressing key areas where trade-offs are emerging in practice. The first panel on global pressures on tax policy will include Benjamin Angel (European Commission), Daniel Bunn (Tax Foundation), Edwin Visser (PwC), a representative from the OECD and Helen Pahapill (UN Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation), moderated by Saim Saeed (Bloomberg Tax) The second panel will focus on cross-border coherence between direct and indirect taxation, with speakers including Margaux Smets (Belgian Ministry of Finance), Jan-Willem Kunen (Loyens & Loeff), Trudy Perie (CFE), and Fernando Matesanz (International VAT Association), moderated by Jeremy Woolf (Pump Court Tax Chambers). The third panel will address ethics and transparency in a shifting regulatory landscape, including issues of professional privilege, DAC-related disclosure obligations and AML supervision. Speakers include Raluca Pruna (European Commission, DG FISMA), Henrik Paulander (European Commission, DG TAXUD), Ken Siong (IESBA), Aleksandar Ivanovski (CFE Tax Advisers Europe) and Johan Barros (Accountancy Europe), with moderation by Eduardo Gracia Espinar (Ashurst). The Forum will bring together policymakers, international organisations, tax administrations, academics and practitioners to consider how competing objectives such as simplification, competitiveness, revenue protection and transparency can be balanced in the design and governance of tax systems in Europe and beyond.
EU Parliament Approves EU-US Trade Deal Subject to Tariff Safeguards & Sunset Clause
Last week, the European Parliament adopted its position on two legislative proposals implementing the tariff elements of the 2025 EU–US Turnberry trade agreement, introducing a framework for reducing tariffs on US goods subject to a series of conditions and safeguards. The proposals provide for the elimination of most EU tariffs on US industrial goods and preferential access for selected US agricultural and seafood products, reflecting commitments made in July 2025. In the plenary vote, the two acts were adopted by 417 votes to 154, with 71 abstentions, and 437 votes to 144, with 60 abstentions. and will now form the basis for negotiations with the Council before final adoption. Parliament introduced several mechanisms aimed at ensuring US compliance with the terms of the agreement. A strengthened suspension clause allows the EU to withdraw tariff preferences in cases where the US imposes additional tariffs above the agreed 15% threshold, introduces new duties on EU goods, or engages in conduct such as discrimination against EU operators, economic coercion, or actions affecting member states’ territorial integrity or policy interests. In parallel, a sunrise clause provides that EU tariff reductions will only take effect where the US meets its obligations, including lowering tariffs to a maximum of 15% on certain EU products, notably those containing steel and aluminium below specified thresholds. Where these conditions are not met, specific tariff preferences may be withdrawn within a defined timeframe. The Parliament also included a sunset clause under which the regulation will expire on 31 March 2028 unless extended through a new legislative proposal supported by an impact assessment. In addition, a safeguard mechanism empowers the European Commission to monitor trade flows and temporarily suspend tariff concessions where increased imports from the US risk causing serious harm to EU industry, including in cases of significant increases in imports of specific product categories. The vote reflects a position in favour of advancing the agreement while maintaining oversight and conditionality, with Parliament indicating that the final acceptance of tariff concessions will depend on effective implementation and continued compliance by the United States. Negotiations with EU Member States will determine the final legislative outcome.
Global Forum Peer Review Advances Exchange of Information Assessments
Delegates from the 30 member jurisdictions of the Global Forum’s Peer Review and Monitoring Group met in Paris from 23 to 27 March to advance the second round of peer reviews assessing jurisdictions’ legal and regulatory frameworks for transparency and exchange of information on request, as well as the effectiveness of information exchanges in practice. The meeting also progressed the Group’s enhanced monitoring activities, aimed at following up on recommendations issued in earlier peer review reports. The Group is responsible for overseeing the Global Forum’s peer review process in relation to the exchange of information on request standard, including the review and approval of peer review reports and related proposals, which are subsequently submitted to the Global Forum for adoption. It is composed of 30 members and operates under the broader framework of the Global Forum, the international body tasked with ensuring the effective implementation of tax transparency and exchange of information standards through peer reviews, monitoring, and capacity-building activities. The Global Forum operates on a consensus basis through its Plenary, which is its decision-making body, and is supported by several subsidiary groups addressing different areas of its work. Alongside the Peer Review & Monitoring Group, these include the Automatic Exchange of Information Peer Review Group, which assesses implementation of the AEOI standard, and the Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework Group, which supports the rollout of new rules on the automatic exchange of information on crypto-assets. The work forms part of the Global Forum’s broader efforts to ensure jurisdictions effectively implement international standards and address deficiencies identified through peer review and monitoring processes.
The selection of the remitted material has been prepared by: Dr. Aleksandar Ivanovski & Brodie McIntosh
Fonte: CFE Tax Advisers Europe. Pubblicazione originale del 2026-03-30.