On 24 June 2026, the European Commission intends to present proposals to simplify direct taxation. The goal is to reduce bureaucracy. For businesses, this is more than a technical detail: given the high level of competitive and investment pressure, the economy now needs clear and positive signals from policymakers. The tax omnibus can provide important impetus – provided it goes beyond a mere minimal compromise.

Simplification is long overdue

International corporate taxation has become significantly more complex in recent years. EU requirements, OECD rules, and national special approaches interact with each other. This leads to legal uncertainty, rising costs, and considerable administrative effort.

A structural problem of EU tax law is the multiple burdens placed on large companies: those subject to the OECD’s global minimum tax must simultaneously comply with additional, similar regulatory frameworks, such as controlled foreign company (CFC) rules or DAC6 reporting obligations. Similar information is often requested multiple times, and different tax bases with identical objectives are calculated in parallel. This does not increase transparency but instead ties up resources, raises the risk of double taxation, and places an excessive burden on companies. Businesses already covered by the complex scope of Pillar II should therefore be exempted from certain ATAD provisions. For all other companies, compliance effort must be significantly reduced. The tax omnibus offers the opportunity to eliminate overlaps and remove unnecessary reporting requirements.

Rules that have taken on a life of their own in practice should also be reviewed. The interest limitation rule is a case in point: originally intended as an anti-abuse measure, it now often acts as a barrier to investment. It applies even in clearly unproblematic cases and influences real financing decisions. External financing (for example, via banks) is not prone to tax planning and should not be adversely affected. The intra-group transfer of funds within the same jurisdiction is likewise non-harmful.

In addition, national gold-plating exacerbates the situation. A ZEW study from March 2026 shows that Germany – similar to France and Poland – implements EU tax rules particularly strictly. This weakens competitiveness. Against this background, the Commission should carefully assess which new rules are truly necessary, especially since Member States often tighten them further. At the same time, Germany should scale back gold-plating.

Ambition instead of a minimal compromise

An ambitious tax omnibus should specifically address excessive regulations and reduce investment-inhibiting effects. Simplification is both possible and necessary: numerous proposals from academia and practice, including those from the German Federal Ministry of Finance’s expert commission on simplified corporate taxation as well as our own position paper, demonstrate this.

Whether the Commission takes this path also depends on the political will of the Member States. Blockages in the unanimity procedure would send the wrong signal. Cutting red tape creates the necessary room for growth, investment, and entrepreneurial capacity to act. With its 2026 work programme, the Commission has announced a comprehensive simplification agenda. Following the agreement on the global minimum tax and the partial exemption of key countries, there is now a renewed responsibility to critically review existing EU rules.

The business community therefore expects more than cosmetic adjustments. A minimal compromise would perpetuate existing problems. What is needed are genuine relief measures, reliable framework conditions, and tangible incentives for investment in Europe and Germany. The tax omnibus offers this opportunity – now it must be seized decisively.