MEP Niels Fuglsang (S&D, Danish) presented his own-initiative report on the massive ‘Pandora Papers’ data leak to the European Parliament’s Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON). His colleagues were in agreement on his findings and conclusions (see EUROPE 12806/14).
As a reminder, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists published a massive data leak in October 2021 highlighting the role of tax havens, intermediaries and the use of shell companies by individuals to evade taxes.
“This leak has shown once again how we as legislators, sadly, are relying on journalists and whistleblowers to get to the bottom of what is happening with regards to tax havens and how loopholes are being exploited”, Mr Fuglsang said.
He affirmed the importance of protecting whistleblowers, not only when it comes to internal reports, but also when they speak out publicly. “In this respect, all EU Member States must fully implement the 2019 directive on whistleblowers”, he argued, pointing out that this has not yet been done everywhere. The other MEPs shared this view.
The rapporteur pointed out that the ‘Pandora Papers’ have exposed Member State officials and aggressive tax planning practices that often depend on financial intermediaries. “We must crack down on politically exposed people exploiting tax loopholes”, he said.
In his view, Member States should introduce cooling-off periods for tax administration officials in order to address the revolving-door problem.
Mr Fuglsang also called for access to accurate and up-to-date information on beneficial ownership, which is essential in the fight against money laundering, tax fraud and tax evasion (see EUROPE 13039/23). Claude Gruffat (Greens/EFA, French), speaking on behalf of Damien Carême, said he would like to see “the potential of existing instruments fully exploited”. He would like the list of non-cooperative countries to show transparent criteria and generate sanctions against the listed countries (see EUROPE 13035/32).
The rapporteur also calls on EU governments to address the issue of preferential arrangements in the EU Council’s Code of Conduct Group. Indeed, some countries offer generous tax benefits and exemptions for foreigners. Herbert Dorfmann (EPP, Italian) insisted on a clear distinction between legal tax competition between Member States and illegal practices. “We should not blame individual Member States and companies, but we should try to find a way to improve the system as a whole”, he said.
To read the report: https://aeur.eu/f/3tv (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)