The EU Parliament voted in favour (514 to 68, 125 abstentions) of recommendations made in a report by Parliament’s Special Committee on Tax Rulings II on 6.7.16. These recommendations were for:
- an EU register of beneficial owners of companies;
- a tax havens blacklist;
- sanctions against non-cooperative tax jurisdictions;
- action against abuse of “patent box” regimes;
- a code of conduct for banks and tax advisors;
- tax good governance rules in EU trade agreements;
- a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) across the EU; and
- an EU-wide withholding tax, to be collected by member states, to ensure that profits made in the EU are taxed at least once before leaving it.
Other recommendations made were for:
- guidelines to better define what is allowed with regard to transfer pricing;
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better protection for whistle-blowers;
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a proposal for the CCCTB proposal before the end of 2016;
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an EU-wide withholding tax, to be collected by member states, to ensure that profits made in the EU are taxed at least once before leaving it;
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a code of conduct for banks, tax advisors, law and accounting firms,
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a new EU Tax Policy, Coherence and Coordination Centre to be created within the EU Commission, and
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a global register of all assets held by individuals, companies and entities, such as trusts and foundations, to which tax authorities would have full access.
Tax havens blacklist – Members of the European Parliament welcomed EU Commission plans to draw up a common EU blacklist of non-cooperative jurisdictions.
- They call for a common definition of “uncooperative jurisdictions” and say that the blacklisting procedure should include an “escalation” provision to allow for dialogue with the jurisdiction in which shortcomings have been identified before deciding to blacklist it.
- Parliament also advocates sanctions against uncooperative jurisdictions, including a possibility to review and even suspend free trade agreements and prohibiting access to EU funds.
- They add that sanctions should also be put in place for companies, banks, accountancy and law firms and tax advisors proven to be involved in illegal, harmful or wrongful activities with those jurisdictions.
- Members also call on EU member states to draw up sanctions against company managers involved in tax evasion and make it possible to revoke business licences in cases where professionals are involved in illegal tax planning and evasion schemes.
- The EU Commission should also explore the possibility of introducing financial liability for tax advisors engaged in unlawful tax practices, they add.
Misuse of “patent box” regimes – The report also criticises “patent box” tax regimes for intellectual property revenues.
- These “have not proven to be effective in fostering innovation.
- Regrettably, they are used by multinational companies for profit shifting through aggressive tax planning schemes (…) which leads to a race to the bottom.
- To prohibit misuse and to make sure they are linked to genuine economic activity, the Commission should propose binding union legislation”, it says. [FJM note: but what could the legislation say to achieve this?]
[Eu Parliament – Press Release] [LTN 129, 7/7/16]