The European Commission’s new tax simplification package promises to lighten one of the heaviest paperwork burdens facing companies that operate across borders. Adopted on 24 June 2026, the plan bundles a sweeping recast of the bloc’s tax-cooperation rules with a Taxation Omnibus Directive, and officials estimate it will save businesses roughly €7.9 billion every year.

At the heart of the tax simplification effort sits a consolidation of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation. The Commission proposes to merge the original directive and its eight amendments, known as DAC1 through DAC9, into a single readable legal text. Companies today juggle overlapping reporting rules layered on over a decade; the recast folds them into one framework.

Several changes cut directly into compliance costs. A single notification will now cover both country-by-country reporting and the Pillar Two minimum tax, filed by one entity for an entire multinational group. Firms already caught by the minimum-taxation rules gain an exemption from certain DAC6 disclosures, and the Commission has stretched the reporting deadline from 30 to 90 days.

The package also raises the threshold for digital-platform reporting under DAC7 from €2,000 to €3,000 and removes the activity threshold for goods sales, sparing smaller sellers from filing. The Commission argues that these adjustments preserve tax transparency while stripping out duplication that generated little useful data. Details sit on the DAC information page.

Brussels frames the move as part of a wider competitiveness drive. The bloc has faced persistent complaints that its reporting demands pile costs onto European firms without matching gains in enforcement. By trimming filings, the Commission hopes to answer critics who warn that regulatory weight is dragging on growth.

The plan does not touch tax rates, which remain a jealously guarded national competence. Instead it targets the machinery of cooperation, where the Commission holds firmer legal ground. Member States will still exchange information on cross-border arrangements, but through a leaner set of channels.

The proposal now heads to the Council, where finance ministers must reach unanimity before it becomes law. Tax files often move slowly through that forum, and national administrations may resist changes that alter the data they collect. The parallel VAT in the Digital Age rollout shows how gradually such reforms land.

If ministers back the package, businesses could feel the relief within a couple of filing cycles. For now, the Commission has staked out an ambition rarely associated with EU tax policy: fewer forms, not more.