Brussels, 01/04/2015 (Agence Europe) - The chair of the special European Parliament committee on tax rulings, French MEP Alain Lamassoure (EPP), says the time has come for “a similar move to that of the euro”. Rejecting the idea that the special TAXE committee will be a court, he urges member states to cast a new eye over the common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB). (Interview by Elodie Lamer)
Agence Europe: At the meeting of the coordinators of the special committee on Monday 30 March, there is reported to have been disagreement about the type of documents to be demanded. Can you tell me more about this? Will there be a hearing of Jean-Claude Juncker, as desired by the Greens/EFA Group?
Alain Lamassoure: “Disagreement” is going a bit far. We exchanged views. The right balance is needed that will allow us to obtain what is accessible and what we need. We need information about the applicable legislation for company taxation in the 28 countries and to this end we've sent a questionnaire to the member states. I would have liked to work closely with the European Commission to avoid duplication (Ed: the Commission has sent a similar questionnaire to the member states), but it seemed that the Commission, in its role as guardian of competition, considers that the information it collects is subject to confidentiality rules. We will therefore be sending questions, including to the Commission. We will be holding a hearing of the Latvian Presidency of the Council, Margrethe Vestager (Competition Commissioner), and then representatives of civil society, companies, tax advisors and journalists. If Jean-Claude Juncker comes, it will be as president of the Commission, but there hasn't been any official proposal. We are not a court, or the media or dispensers of justice.
After presentation of the Commission proposal on tax rulings (see EUROPE 11277), you said that transparency among countries was a first stage in maximum transparency between economic players and consumers. What do you have in mind?
One of the useful aspects of Tuesday's hearing with the OECD secretary general, Angel Gurria, is that he told us that he himself favoured maximum transparency. Initially, it will be very difficult to obtain anything more than total transparency among tax offices. I am persuaded that over time, it will become difficult for multinationals to justify, even to their shareholders, the fact that they don't give details, in the information they provide, about the tax they pay, although they do give details about their turnover, profits and depreciation. A change in culture is what needs to be achieved.
Irish MEPs Brian Hayes and Sean Kelly, from your group, have stated their opposition to the CCCTB - as has the ECR Group. Are countries ready to see progress on this?
I find the expressions of reluctance amusing, particularly from countries that are fierce defenders of competition, including tax competition. I say 'yes' to tax competition, but under normal competition conditions, in other words with transparency and loyalty. One can't justify the current situation in which there is neither transparency nor loyalty. I am awaiting with great interest the debate that we'll be having on this matter, and the debate that will held around the table at the Council. The debate will take place in public. As a democrat, the only arguments that count are those that can be made publicly. I am counting on the benefits of public debate. That is what we did for VAT 40 years ago, right at the start of the EU. A directive to say that in a single market, we have to tax consumption in an identical manner. There is tax competition over tax rates, in full transparency. The same approach should be taken for company tax.
What are the milestones?
We have to complete our work, and the sooner the better. We are waiting to see what proposal the Commission will unveil in June. Will it simply defrost the old proposal, or will it give it a makeover? In 2011, the Council came up with a reason that wasn't just an excuse - the crisis in the eurozone. It therefore put the CCCTB on the backburner, to be saved for better weather. We have better weather now. The time has come, with sufficient hindsight, to cast a new eye over this very important issue. Underlying all this, there is pressure from public opinion. I hope that the special committee's work will be speedy so it can take advantage of this wave.
How can the TAXE committee's work achieve real legislative initiatives, when the EP's long-term work on the troika came to nothing?
The two are not at all comparable. The Commission is not alone in the troika, and the troika's recommendations concerned specific countries. There weren't high feelings in public opinion across the whole of the EU. But the Luxleaks affair shook everybody, including public opinion in the highlighted countries. There is massive support from public opinion and the fight against tax evasion is part of Jean-Claude Juncker's electoral programme, along with the Commission's work programme that he unveiled in July. Jean-Claude Juncker and his Dutch first vice-president are incredibly motivated. The Commission and EP may compete with each other to put pressure on the member states. Basically, more than 20 years ago, heads of state took a historic decision that they forced their minsters to accept - i.e. to abandon their national currencies in favour of the euro. It's the same thing today. A political decision at the highest level is required for there to be an equivalent political scope. Leaders have to be capable of manhandling their finance ministers. A similar move is needed to that of the euro.