The Council today adopted a Directive granting access for tax authorities to information held by authorities responsible for the prevention of money laundering. According to a release from the EU, the Directive will require member states to provide access to information on the beneficial ownership of companies. It will enable tax authorities to access that information in monitoring the proper application of rules on the automatic exchange of tax information.

The EU Council says tax authorities need greater access to information on the beneficial ownership of intermediary entities and other relevant customer due diligence information. The Directive is expected to *”help prevent tax evasion and tax fraud.”*

[EU Release](http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2016/12/06-beneficial-ownership-information/)