Brussels/Strasbourg, 10/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - At the G20 Finance meeting of Tuesday 10 February, the Commissioner for Taxation, Pierre Moscovici, reiterated his hopes that the EU will play a leading role in fighting tax optimisation, following the latest revelations in the 'Swissleaks' affair (see EUROPE 11249).
At a working meeting of the global monetary policy-makers, the Commission is reported to have raised the question of the legal proposal on the automatic exchange on tax rulings, which will modify the 'administrative cooperation' directive on taxation matters. This text is anticipated for March, following an initial guideline debate at the College of Commissioners on Wednesday 18 February. In June, Moscovici added, the Commission will also present a package on harmful tax competition. The aim will probably be to relaunch the proposed common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) and, most likely, also to bring in an anti-abuse rule and tighten up the code of conduct on corporate taxation.
The Commission's guideline debate will deal with the first 'transparency' package as a whole, and possibly anything else that could be added to it. Adopting an idea voiced by Philippe Lamberts (Greens/EFA, Belgium), Moscovici has already raised the idea of revising the directive on accounting standards to tighten up the corporate transparency requirements. As it covers corporate law matters, this proposal will not come under Moscovici's remit. At the Commission, a debate is believed to be underway on the balance to be struck between data protection and corporate transparency. A decision may be made on 18 February.
The Greens/EFA group has no intention of waiting for the Commission to take action to force companies to divulge their tax arrangements. It has submitted amendments to the proposed directive on shareholders' rights (the 'legal affairs' committee will examine the amendments at the end of this month). These amendments aim to force all companies operating in Europe to divulge their turnovers, staff numbers and documents relating to tax administration. The French MEP Pascal Durand, who has been tasked with negotiating this text on behalf of the Greens/EFA group, is focusing on this preventative aspect to bring in a logic of transparency. The S&D group may support these amendments, jeopardising the cohesion between the grand coalition of the EP on taxation issues.
The Greens also hope to amend the draft directive protecting business secrecy (see EUROPE 11235). The aim is to step up protection for whistle-blowers (the amendments will be examined on 3 March), who played such a critical role in the LuxLeaks and Swissleaks scandals. (Élodie Lamer with Marie-Pauline Desset)