Better rules for corporate taxes in the EU

16.12.2015 12:15

Better rules for corporate taxes in the EU

The European Parliament’s answer to Luxleaks and aggressive tax practices

€50-150 billion are lost every year by Member States that fail to collect corporate taxes due to aggressive tax practices by some firms. Differences in tax rules, different regimes with third countries, or concrete 'unfair tax practices' used in some countries benefit a few multinational companies, who legally decrease their tax liability. The European Parliament called today for legislation to restrain tax evasion in the European Union.

“Tax avoidance, as well as tax evasion, presents not just huge problems for government budgets, but at the same time distorts competition and causes an unfair situation for taxpayers. If we act properly, we can change the situation for the better", said Luděk Niedermayer MEP, Co-Rapporteur on Parliament's Report on bringing transparency, coordination and convergence to corporate tax policies in the Union, that was voted today in plenary. He stressed: “Our proposal includes harmonisation of the corporate tax base and the consolidation of revenues. This does not contradict Member State sovereignty in tax policy and does not prohibit fair and transparent tax competition. This measure is key to tackling tax avoidance in the EU and it will lower costs for the multinational companies that are active in several Member States”, said Niedermayer.

“By collecting tens of billions of Euros lost in aggressive tax planning every year in the EU, we will not just improve the fiscal position of States but will protect those who pay taxes from an inevitably higher burden if other taxpayers do not do the same. We aim for better coordination in Member-State tax policies, and we should also act jointly in relations towards third countries. Our proposal includes the implementation of the OECD project that tackles this issue at a global level”, said Niedermayer, who defended the Report in the Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.

Note to editors

The EPP Group is the largest political group in the European Parliament with 216 Members from 27 Member States

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