02/06/21

INTERNATIONAL TAX: EU agrees rules for corporate tax transparency.

As published on rte.ie, Tuesday 1 June, 2021.

Negotiators for the European Parliament and European Union member states have agreed rules for greater tax transparency for multinationals.

The parliament announced that the deal struck with the European Council - which represents governments - would require multinationals with an income of over €750 million to publish the tax they pay in each EU member state.

Information will have to include taxes paid by subsidiaries of companies, even if they pay less than the €750 million threshold.

According to the parliament statement, companies will also have to provide country-by-country reports on the number of full-time employees in each member state, the amount of profit or loss before income tax in each country, and the amount of accumulated and paid income tax and accumulated earnings.

One of the lead negotiators described the move as "just the beginning".

The parliament said its members wanted greater transparency over tax lost to havens in the EU, among which it included Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

Lead negotiator Evelyn Regner, from the centre left S&D group, said: "Today's deal marks a significant step towards tax transparency.

"With the public Country-by-Country Reporting Directive - which obliges big corporations operating in the EU to disclose their tax information - we have answered society's calls for more tax transparency.

"Parliament has been fighting for this directive to be implemented for more than five years and today we were finally able to reach a deal with the Council.

"We have laid the foundations for tax transparency in the EU with this deal, and this is just the beginning".

The new agreement comes as US President Joe Biden is pushing the need for a 15% minimum tax for multinationals back up the international agenda.

His proposal is due to be discussed by finance ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy nations at a meeting on London on Friday.

The EU measures were first proposed in the wake of a series of international financial scandals revealed in major investigations such as LuxLeaks and the Panama Papers.

"At a time when our fellow citizens are trying to overcome the effects of the pandemic, it is more crucial than ever to demand real financial transparency," said Portugal's Economy Minister Pedro Siza Vieira.

He estimated the EU's losses from tax evasion to be €50 billion a year.

But Transparency International EU said the proposed measure would not work.

"EU legislation on country by country reporting set to be finalised is not fit for purpose," the campaign group tweeted.

"It won't apply to most company operations and tax avoidance will continue."