EPP Group: tax avoidance is a structural problem in Europe

Lux Leaks: Special tax Committee votes today on final report / EPP Group wants to continue work on unfair tax practices in special Working Group within Committee on Economic Affairs (ECON)

"The problem of tax avoidance in Europe is not the problem of a specific country, but a structural problem of tax policy across Member States. Mismatches between national tax systems create loopholes. This is the main finding of the Special Committee," said Burkhard Balz and Danuta Hübner MEPs today, ahead of a vote on the report analysing the causes of tax avoidance in Europe.

"A structural problem can only be solved with structural measures. The only way to tackle the problem in the long run is the harmonisation of the corporate tax base. We do not want to unify tax rates, but we want to harmonise what is taxed and where," Hübner stressed. The EPP Group is in favour of a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax base to close the loopholes between national systems.

Balz is EPP Group spokesman in the Parliament's Committee on unfair tax practices. Hübner is EPP Group Shadow Rapporteur on the report.

Member States who veto more common tax policy in Europe harm everybody Burkhard Balz MEP and Danuta Hübner MEP

"The work of the Special Committee was extremely comprehensive, but it is not yet finished. We want to continue to work on unfair tax practices in a special Working Group within Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs," Balz explains. The Special Committee, set up in February 2015, sent, amongst other things, fact-finding missions to Ireland, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg, Switzerland and Belgium and analysed thousands of documents.

"We are glad we reached a large consensus across most Political Groups in Parliament that we want to increase pressure on Member States to collaborate at last. Member States who veto more common tax policy in Europe harm everybody," Balz and Hübner stressed.