On Thursday, 10 December, MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) adopted—by 43 votes in favour, 6 against, and 5 abstentions—a resolution on amending the EU’s tax haven blacklist (see EUROPE 12608/30), which was drawn up by the Subcommittee on Tax Matters (FISC).
All of the compromise amendments among political groups were adopted (see EUROPE 12619/8). In general, the text acknowledges the positive impact that the list has already had but laments, nonetheless, that it is falling short of its potential. It thus proposes several ways to bolster the list’s transparency and consistency and suggests stricter criteria coupled with stronger defensive measures against tax evasion.
In particular, the S&D group’s amendment stating that Article 116 of the TFEU should be used when harmful tax practices lead to market distortion in the EU was adopted by a vote of 31 to 26.
“The EU will only ever be credible as a leader for tax justice when it puts its own house in order. (...) With this resolution, the tax sub-committee has committed itself to scrutinising EU tax havens and proposing improvements in their tax policies where needed”, praised Paul Tang (S&D, Netherlands), chair of the ‘FISC’ subcommittee, in a statement.
On the same day, MEPs also approved the oral question to the Council of the EU accompanying the resolution. The final vote in plenary session is expected to take place in January 2021. (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)