Brussels, 31/03/2015 (Agence Europe) - At a debate with MEPs on the EP's economic and financial affairs committee (ECON) on Tuesday 31 March and amidst public debate in Europe about public country-by-country reporting on multinationals' tax, Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD's Centre for Fiscal Policy and Administration, said that the position of the United States, Japan and some EU nations was that the reported information should go to tax offices.
Thus it is that, in its action plan to tackle base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), the OECD recommends country-by-country reporting to tax authorities by multinationals with a turnover above €750 million. But the question of making this reporting public was never even raised at the OECD, Saint-Amans told this newsletter after the debate. The OECD seems to prefer the same rules applying everywhere, but is not opposed to public reporting.
The European Commission is under political pressure to examine this option and carry out a public consultation on the subject. Saint-Amans hoped the debate would not drag out too long and miss the current window of opportunity. What is wanted is money, not just naming and shaming, stated OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria earlier in the day when addressing MEPs. Germany is suspected of being reluctant on country-by-country reporting, as is Ireland.
In response to a question from Anneliese Dodds (ALDE, UK) about whether the OECD's reporting would be more ambitious in the future, Saint-Amans said that they were committed to revising the rules in 2020 and extending the scope where necessary.
Answering a question from Ludek Niedermayer (EPP, Czech Republic) about the limits of the tools recommended by the OECD, Saint-Amans said: “We'll see in practice” and the OECD would be monitoring implementation. “We've reached unprecedented levels of cooperation” but the tools would only be effective if the whole package were implemented. There would be an issue “if we fix something here and leave something open there”. Bernd Lucke (ECR, Germany) said it was important not to underestimate the attempts by multinationals to find ways to get out of paying tax.
Asked by Sophie in't Veld (ALDE, Netherlands) about countries' commitment, Saint-Amans said it was “not sustainable, politically speaking, that companies can reduce their taxation because there are loopholes in international rules but small, open economies don't feel like strengthening the rules because they're afraid of being hit”. He said that the OECD took the “soft law” approach that is not politically binding, but is nonetheless ethically binding, adding that the OECD's work had an impact on companies and they were starting to change their behaviour. (Elodie Lamer with Mathieu Bion)