Brussels, 04/04/2013 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 4 January, the European Commission reacted to the leaks from different press associated to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) as part of the “Offshore Leaks” investigation on the existence of accounts held in different tax havens by thousands of companies and people from the world of politics and economics in 170 countries.
While not wanting to comment on the names on the list itself, waiting for them to be verified by the competent authorities, Olivier Bailly, the spokesperson for the European Commission, insisted on the Commission's “very firm position” with regard to the fight against tax fraud in general and tax havens. “There must be no indulgence (…) for individuals, companies or third countries that circumvent international laws to organise tax fraud” in the member states and in the European Union, he said, stating that there would be “consequences” for third states “that agree to welcome tax evaders or the money from tax evasion” - which in the EU amounts to over a trillion euro per year. Bailly spoke of the package of 30 measures proposed by the Commission on 6 December to fight against tax fraud and to limit the cost of tax evasion (see EUROPE 10746) - measures which are still awaiting the agreement of the member states. He therefore urged the member states to apply these measures by strengthening the double taxation agreements and by developing in particular “a common position and a common definition of what a tax haven is” and what illegal practices are, so as to be able to establish black lists of countries that do not respect these measures. Asked about the position of Luxembourg, Bailly reiterated the “very clear” rules that are applied to all member states with regard to transmitting information on the contents of bank accounts.
The leader of the European Parliament's S&D Group, Hannes Swoboda, also reacted to the offshore leaks. He called for “quick action at the national and EU level to ensure the eradication of the system of secret offshore accounts, including fines for the individuals or companies that are guilty of tax fraud”, at a time when 26 million people are jobless in Europe and when thousands of people have lost their savings and are facing serious difficulties (our translation throughout). (FG/transl.fl)