The European Commission will propose to Member States that the EU Council act by qualified majority in certain tax legislative matters in a Communication to be presented on Tuesday 15 January in Strasbourg.
The objective is to "show that there is a way" towards the end of unanimity on tax issues "by stepping into the door", said Taxation Commissioner Pierre Moscovici.
He justified this initiative, which will necessarily have to be deployed "step by step", by the need to work towards "European sovereignty" in the tax field, particularly in the digital field and in the fight against climate change.
This proposal will be based on the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU (Article 48), according to which the European Council may decide unanimously to authorise the EU Council to decide by qualified majority on certain matters, in particular tax matters, provided that no national parliament objects to the European Council's decision.
Once this is done, Parliament would then have a greater say in the legislative process. Mr Moscovici also hoped that pro-European political forces would make it a campaign issue in the May 2019 European elections.
However, as the issue of taxation in the digital sector shows, the opposition in principle of countries such as Ireland to granting tax jurisdiction at European level makes the Commission's initiative very difficult.
Tax havens. In March, the Commission will review the European blacklist of non-cooperative jurisdictions from a tax point of view. It will also take stock of the actions undertaken by sixty-five third countries that have made commitments to cooperation and transparency (grey list).
Welcoming an "incredibly effective process", Mr Moscovici admitted that the black list had become shorter than when it was created at the end of 2017 (see EUROPE 11919); it now includes only five countries and territories (American Samoa, Guam, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, American Virgin Islands). However, according to him, "the right criterion is not length" and the grey list is even "more important than the black list".
The Commission wishes to strengthen the impact of the European blacklist, in particular by raising the issue of sanctions for countries that are still recalcitrant. In addition, in favour of Brexit, it could suggest revising the criteria for determining a non-cooperative tax jurisdiction, in particular by including countries or territories - such as those dependent on the United Kingdom - where tax rates are zero.
GAFA. As for the taxation of digital giants, Mr Moscovici made no secret of his scepticism about adopting a European solution by the time of the European elections.
It noted that Member States want to make progress at national level, in particular by introducing a broad tax base close to the Commission's initial proposal. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)