Corporate tax avoidance: European Parliament gives EU Commission deadline to deliver

Met dank overgenomen van S.H. (Sophie) in 't Veld i, gepubliceerd op dinsdag 1 december 2015.

The European Parliament's influential Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee has today overwhelmingly adopted a report calling on the European Commission to table a number of legislative proposals to address corporate tax avoidance in the EU, by June 2016. Liberal and Democrat MEPs successfully tabled amendments to prioritise the call for a harmonised common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) as a matter of urgency, for the EU Commission to negotiate tax treaties on behalf of Member States and for the OECD BEPS project (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) to be implemented as soon as possible by EU countries.

Commenting after the vote today, the ALDE shadow rapporteur for this report and first Vice President of the ALDE group, Sophie In`t Veld MEP, said:

"The European Parliament's influential economic affairs committee has today demanded a number of legislative proposals to tackle corporate tax avoidance are tabled by the European Commission by June 2016. It's vital we close the extensive loopholes that exist in the European Union's tax system. This report will put real pressure on the European Commission to act."

"All companies have to pay their fair share of taxes; this is vital for the integrity of our single market, SMEs and of course our public finances. The days of mass corporate tax avoidance within the EU must now come to an end. All EU countries have a responsibility to implement the OECD "BEPS" project as a minimum standard and remain ambitious; the fight is on to make this a reality."