Confédération Fiscale Européenne

CFE Tax Advisers Europe, formally known as Confédération Fiscale Européenne (CFE), is a Brussels-based umbrella association of European tax advisers. Founded in 1959, CFE brings together members from 30 national tax adviser organisations in 24 European countries, representing more than 200,000 tax advisers. CFE strives to contribute to the co-ordination and development of tax law in Europe by sharing the unique insight of our members with European institutions, and to promote the co-ordination of national laws that govern and safeguard the tax adviser profession.


Role and Mission:

CFE aims to:

  • Safeguard the professional interests of tax advisers and assure the quality of tax services provided by tax advisers.
  • Exchange information about national tax laws and contribute to the co-ordination and development of tax law in Europe.
  • Maintain relations with the authorities at national and international levels, and share with the authorities of the European Union the experience and insight of our member tax advisers from all areas of taxation and professional law.
  • Inform the public about the services that tax advisers provide.
  • Seek to provide the best possible conditions for tax advisers to carry out their profession.
  • Promote the co-ordination of national laws governing the profession, and achieve the protection of each national tax adviser’s title in Europe.

Structure

The interests of CFE's members are represented by the General Assembly and Executive Board.


The General Assembly is the governing body of CFE Tax Advisers Europe, in which each member state is able to be represented by up to six delegates, and observers countries by up to two delegates. The primary responsibilities of the General Assembly are to decide on the acceptance of members and observers, to approve amendments to the governing statutes, to adopt the business report of the Executive Board and to approve the accounts and budget for the CFE.


The Executive Board is in charge of the day to day work of CFE Tax Advisers Europe and reports to the General Assembly. The Board monitors developments in taxation law and the profession within Europe, and devises and manages CFE’s work streams arising from these issues. Work is managed through three committees, the Fiscal Committee, the Professional Affairs Committee and the Tax Technology Committee, which are chaired by a member of the Board. Delegates from each of the three committees also form various working groups and subcommittees focussed on specific or time sensitive issues that necessitate specialist input. The CFE Fiscal Committee is in charge of the CFE's extensive technical work on taxation. The Fiscal Committee has two sub-groups: Direct Taxation Sub-Committee and Indirect Taxation Sub-Committee. For the discussion of topical tax matters the Fiscal Committee regularly establishes Task Forces to which outside experts may also be appointed. The CFE Professional Affairs Committee deals with professional and regulatory matters and the Tax Technology Committee is devoted to digital transformation and all its ramifications for tax.

Technical Committees

Fiscal Committee

CFE’s Fiscal Committee is composed of two Sub-Committees: the Direct Taxes Subcommittee and Indirect Taxes Subcommittee, which focus on monitoring and responding to developments in tax policy and tax law at both European and international level. The Fiscal Committee aims to provide members with a cohesive view of the current state of affairs in tax policy by providing detailed analyses and updates concerning the work of the EU, OECD and UN.

Member and observer organisations nominate delegates who attend the Fiscal Committee’s technical meetings and are contacted on a regular basis concerning developments in taxation policy. The views communicated to CFE by those delegates concerning the developments are then represented in CFE’s Opinion Statements and outreach work in both European and international tax fora.


Professional Affairs Committee

The Professional Affairs Committee engages in the policy areas that concern and affect the exercise of the tax advisory profession. By way of submitting position papers and engaging with the European Commission and the OECD, the Professional Affairs Committee advances the CFE Board priorities that concern the tax advisory profession at large.

In the past year, the Professional Affairs Committee participated in many initiatives at EU and OECD level that aim to contribute to the ongoing policy debate and to voice the concerns of European tax advisers. Apart from partaking in ongoing discussions with the EU Commission in different policy areas, the Professional Affairs Committee regularly responds to various EU and OECD questionnaires and also drafts technical updates of relevance for tax advisers which are aimed at informing the members of recent developments.

The work of the Professional Affairs Committee broadly covers issues such as: ethics and professional codes, anti-money laundering, reporting of tax avoidance schemes, cooperation with tax authorities, digitalisation of tax services, taxpayers’ rights, tax certainty, professional qualifications and regulation, liability and insurance, cross-border mobility, business structures of tax firms, client confidentiality and legal privilege.


Tax Technology Committee

The newly formed Tax Technology Committee (TTC) was established as a response to the importance of digital taxation both now and for the foreseeable future. In this regard, the TTC has a different approach to tax and technology, being devoted to digital transformation and all its ramifications for tax. It is focused on the role professionals handling tax in all manifestations will have, the risks posed to them by the development of Artificial Intelligence and the direct interaction between taxpayer and revenue authority.

Publications

The Technical Committees of CFE Tax Advisers Europe respond to tax policy developments emanating from the EU Commission, OECD and UN in the form of Opinion Statements and policy submissions. By way of submitting position papers and engaging with the European Commission and the OECD, the Committees aim to contribute to ongoing policy debate and to voice the concerns of tax advisers concerning the impact of policy and legislative developments on the profession. Apart from participating in ongoing discussions in different policy areas, the Committees respond to various EU and OECD consultations, and also draft technical updates of relevance for tax advisers which are aimed at informing the members of recent developments. Publications are published on the CFE Tax Advisers website.


Additionally, the leading European tax law journal European Taxation, edited by IBFD, regularly publishes articles on CFE conferences and Opinion Statements of particular relevance. European Taxation is the official journal of the CFE Tax Advisers Europe.

International Co-operation

The CFE is a member or participates in the following consultation fora:

  • European Commission Platform for Tax Good Governance. The European Commission Platform for Tax Good Governance is a forum for expert representatives from business, tax professional and civil society organisations. The Platform is chaired by Director-General of DG Taxation and Customs Union, Stephen Quest. The Platform aims to facilitate a structured dialogue and exchange of views and expertise in order to achieve a more coordinated and effective EU approach to counter tax evasion and avoidance, to identify and remedy double taxation and to promote good tax systems in third countries. CFE President, Piergiorgio Valente, and Chair of the Fiscal Committee, Stella Raventós-Calvo, participate as representatives of the CFE in 2018 at the Platform.
  • EU VAT Forum. The EU VAT Forum offers a discussion platform where business and VAT authorities meet to discuss how the implementation of VAT legislation can be improved in practice. The CFE representatives at the Forum are Alezandra Heinzer and Christian Amand.
  • VAT Expert Group. The VAT Expert Group assists and advises the European Commission on VAT matters. The group is composed of individuals appointed in a personal capacity with requisite expertise in the area of VAT, and organisations representing particular businesses and tax practitioners that can assist in the development and implementation of VAT policies. The Chair and Vice Chair of the CFE Indirect Taxes Subcommittee, Jeremy Woolf and Trudy Perié, are the CFE Tax Advisers Europe representatives to the Group.
  • ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council of the UN). In 2007 CFE obtained consultative status with the UN ECOSOC. As such, the CFE is able to attend meetings of the Committee of Experts on International Cooperation in Tax Matters and communicate its views on taxation issues that are raised for discussion.
  • OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development). CFE is involved in the work of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and regularly attends meetings and workshops organised by the OECD. Through these workshops, the OECD collects information on regulation law and issues arising in individual countries in order to tackle deregulation on as far-reaching a basis as possible. CFE has made clear its view that professional regulation ought to be maintained in order to protect both taxpayers and Revenue authorities
  • GTAP (Global Tax Advisers Platform). CFE Tax Advisers Europe ("CFE") together with the Asia-Oceania Tax Consultants’ Association (“AOTCA”) and the West African Union of Tax Institutes (“WAUTI”), established the Global Tax Advisers Platform (“GTAP”) in 2013. GTAP, formerly known as GTACF, is an international platform, representing more than 600,000 tax advisers in Europe, Asia and Africa, that seeks to bring together national and international organizations of tax professionals from all around the world. The principal aim of GTAP is to promote taxpayer and tax advisers’ interests by ensuring the fair and efficient operation of the global tax framework, including recognition of the rights and interests of taxpayers, and the role of tax professionals.
  • AOTCA (Asia Oceania Tax Consultants' Association). AOTCA is the International Organisation for the tax professionals in that region. The main purpose is to exchange information, knowledge and experiences on taxation and to exert for expansion and development of tax profession.
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References
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