The European Commission today held an orientation debate on corporate taxation policy, ahead of anticipated legislative proposals in the coming weeks. Commenting on the leaked proposals on the table, Green tax policy spokesperson Sven Giegold said:
“These proposals undermine the credibility and commitment of the Juncker Commission in tax matters. A crucial measure for providing tax transparency is the extension of country-by-country reporting to all transnational companies but, instead of pushing for this, the Commission is trying to bury it in bureaucracy. The proposal for a consultation for an impact assessment on tax transparency is Kafkaesque and demonstrates a lack of commitment to truly address the issue of corporate tax transparency. Green proposals on country-by-country reporting have been supported by MEPs in the draft EU rules on shareholder rights and we would urge the Commission to go out to bat for these crucial rules vis-a-vis member states, instead of hiding behind bureaucracy.
The European Parliament’s investigation into the tax avoidance practises of large corporations is also ongoing (1) and it is important that the Commission also draw conclusions from this investigation. The coordinated gaming of the corporate tax system by large multinationals necessitates a coherent and coordinated policy response from all EU institutions.”
(1) The European Parliament’s special committee on tax avoidance is continuing its investigation and will have a delegation to the Netherlands and Ireland this week, with a delegation to the UK foreseen next month.
The text for the orientation of the Commission can be found here:
https://sven-giegold.de/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/120808.pdf