Activities of Marco VALLI related to 2016/2038(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect (TAXE 2) (A8-0223/2016 - Jeppe Kofod, Michael Theurer) IT
Amendments (21)
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas convergenceordination of tax policies should also be accompanied by greater controls and more investigations of harmful tax practices; whereas the Commission has started new formal investigations regarding tax treatment of MNEs; whereas a number of investigations by the Commission in matters of state aid were still ongoing at the time of adoption of this report; whereas certain Member States have initiated recovery procedures against some MNEs;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital P a (new)
Recital P a (new)
Pa. whereas the European Union has greater powers in the field of financial and banking regulation than in the field of company taxation, which remains a prerogative of the Member States;
Amendment 155 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital AC
Recital AC
AC. whereas the implications for the Union have been analysed and assessed in particular by Parliament’s Special Committee on tax rulings and other measures similar in nature (TAXE 1), whose work resulted in a resolution being adopted with overwhelming majority on 25 November 2015; whereas the Commission issued a joint reply to the resolutions of 16 December 2015 and 25 November 2015;
Amendment 157 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital AD a (new)
Recital AD a (new)
ADa. whereas, despite what was called for in the final report of TAXE I regarding the inconsistencies in the statements by Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker concerning the page in the Krecké report which for a long time was kept secret, it was decided not to hear Mr Juncker again;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital AE a (new)
Recital AE a (new)
AEa. whereas the activities of the Special Committee were not facilitated by the format chosen for the hearings, which made it impossible to go into certain issues in depth and to obtain satisfactory answers;
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. WelcomNotes the Anti-tax Avoidance Package (ATAP) published by the Commission on 28 January 2016, as well as all legislative proposals and communications already undertaken afterwards; calls on the Council not to further water down these proposals and to reach a unanimous position on the ATAP and keep the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive as one single directive; welcomes the initiative to create a common Union list of uncooperative jurisdictions in the External Strategy for Effective Taxation;
Amendment 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. WelcomNotes the Commission’s adoption on 12 April 2016 of a proposal for a directive amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure by companies, their subsidiaries and branches, of information relating to income tax and to increased transparency in company tax; regrets, however, that the proposed scope, criteria and thresholds are not in line with the previous positions adopted by Parliament, which for all practical purposes renders the proposal less effective;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. WelcomNotes the agreement in Council on 8 December 2015 on automatic exchange of information on tax rulings; stresses that the Commission should have full access todeplores, however, the fact that such exchanges are not public and transparent; stresses that the new Union database of tax rulings should be publicly accessible; insists on the need for a comprehensive and efficient database of all rulings having potential cross-border effect;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Reiterates its position that multinational undertakings ought to publish in a clear and comprehensible manner in their balance sheets, for each Member State and each third country where they are established, a series of items of information, including pre-tax profits or losses, tax on profits or losses, number of employees, and operations performed; underlines the importance of making this information available to the public, possibly in the form of a central EU register;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Strongly emphasises that the work of whistleblowers is crucial for revealing scandals of tax evasion and avoidance, and that, therefore, protection for whistleblowers needs to be legally guaranteed and strengthened EU-wide; notes that the European Court of Human Rights and the Council of Europe have undertaken work on this issue; considers that courts and Member States should ensure the protection of legitimate business secrets while in no waynot hindering, hampering or stiflinge the capacity of whistleblowers and journalists to document and reveal illegal, wrongful and harmful practices where this is clearly and overwhelmingly in the public interest; regrets that the Commission has no plans for prompt action on the matter;
Amendment 306 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Recommends introducing an EU- wide withholding taxeffective taxation system, in order to ensure that profits generated within the Union are taxed at least once before leaving it; notes that such a proposal should include a refund system to prevent double taxation;
Amendment 321 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Observes that so far, some Member States, in particular within the framework of the Code of Conduct Group, have been neglecting this issue and have yet to come up with a proper time-frame to tackle it; stresses in particular the negative role played in this regard by Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, which has also emerged from certain investigations by journalists;
Amendment 338 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Observes that somemany banks, tax advisers, law and accounting firms and other intermediaries have played a key role in designing aggressive tax planning schemes for their clients;
Amendment 368 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Stresses the need for concrete sanctions, including the possibility of revoking business licences for professionals and companies, including financial companies, proved to be involved in designing, advising on the use of, or utilising aggressive tax planning and evasion schemes; requests that the Commission explore the feasibility of introducing proportional financial liability for tax advisers engaged in unlawful tax practices;
Amendment 380 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Reiterates the crucial role of whistleblowers in revealing misconduct and illegal and wrongful practices; considers that such revelations, which shine a light on the magnitude of tax evasion and avoidance, are clearly in the public interest, as demonstrated in the recent ‘Panama papers’ leak; stresses that revelations concerning individual cases must not distract attention from a phenomenon which is general and which could be in the interests of other countries that engage in the same practices to promote tax evasion and avoidance;
Amendment 391 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Urges the Commission to propose as soon as possible a clear legal framework to guarantee the effective protection of whistleblowers, as well as of journalists and other persons connected with the press who aid and facilitate them; calls on the Member States to revise their current legislation with a view to preventing prosecution in such cases; calls for the most virtuous examples of legislation on protection of those who cooperate with judicial authorities in relation to activities linked to organised crime which are already in force in some Member States to be taken as a model;
Amendment 397 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31a. Deplores furthermore the fact that inspection of such documents is precluded by confidentiality measures, and calls therefore for these documents to be published and accessible;
Amendment 408 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 33 a (new)
Paragraph 33 a (new)
33a. Considers that the inspection of the documents of the 'Code of Conduct' Group has confirmed the suspicions arising from investigations by journalists regarding the action taken by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and President of the Euro Group Jeroen Dijsselbloem to protect the interests and tax privileges of Luxembourg and the Netherlands; does not, therefore, regard their action against tax evasion and avoidance at European level as being very credible;
Amendment 452 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Calls for urgent action against tax fraud, tax evasion, tax havens and aggressive tax planning; regrets that certain Member States within the Council hasve for a number of years impeded decisive action on these issues, and reminds Member States of the possibility available to them of establishing systems of enhanced cooperation (between at least 9 Member States) in order to speed up action on harmful and illegal tax practices;
Amendment 504 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Stresses the need for a comprehensive EU/US approach on the implementation of OECD standards and on beneficial ownership; stresses furthermore that good governance clauses and the full BEPS action plan should be included in the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP) in order to ensure a level playing field, create more value for society as a whole and combat tax fraud and avoidance;
Amendment 523 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Regrets deeply that the timeframe for the present report has not allowed for a thorough examination of the ‘Panama Papers’ case; stresses the urgent need for a full and proper follow-up by Parliament in this regard; underlines the immense political importance of analysing the modus operandi of the companies and private citizens involved with the Panama papers scandal with a view to tackling legislative loopholes; considers it essential to clarify the role played by UK Prime Minister David Cameron in this regard, in order to assess whether his action within the Council may not have served to defend private interests;