Activities of Marco VALLI related to 2018/2121(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance PDF (1001 KB) DOC (369 KB)
Amendments (17)
Amendment 32 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that current international and national tax rules were mostly conceived in the early 20th century; asserts that there is an urgent need for reform of the rules, so that international, EU and national tax systems are fit for the new economic, social and technologic challenges of the 21st century; points out, in this context, the gradual shift from tangible production to intangible assets in the value chains of MNEs, as reflected in the relative rates of growth over the last five years of royalties and licensing fee receipts (almost 5 per cent annually) compared with trade in goods and FDI (less than 1 per cent per year)1a; notes the broad understanding that current tax systems are not equipped to keep up with these developments and ensure that all market participants pay fair taxes; _________________ 1a UNCTAD, World Investment Report, 2018.
Amendment 57 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Welcomes the fact that during its current term the Commission has put forward 22 legislative proposals aimed at closing some of the loopholes, improving the fight against financial crimes and aggressive tax planning, and enhancing tax collection efficiency and tax fairness; calls for the swift adoption of initiadeeply regrets the lack of progress in the Council on major initiatives of corporate tax reform that have not yet been finalised due to the lack of genuine political will; points out that such deadlock undermines the tax morale and citizens’ trust in European institutions, while perpetuating tax injustice and inequalitives that have not yet been finalised; calls, in particular, for the swift adoption of the key legislative proposals on the public country by country reporting, the CC(C)TB and the digital taxation package before the end of the parliamentary term and for careful monitoring of the implementation to ensure efficiency and proper enforcement, in order to keep pace with the versatility of tax fraud, tax evasion and aggressive tax planning;
Amendment 90 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Highlights that close to 40 % of MNEs’ profits are shifted to tax havens globally each year25 , of which about 35% come from the EU; points out that about 80% of the profits shifted from the EU are channelled to or through EU Member States, namely Ireland, accounting alone for more than $100 billion of profits shifted, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Belgium, Cyprus and Malta; underlines that other EU countries appear to be the main losers from this phenomenon; _________________ 25 Tørsløv, Wier and Zucman ‘The missing profits of nations’, National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 24701, 2018.
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Notes that the growing role of intangible assets in the MNE's value chain and harmful R&D tax incentives are conducive to aggressive tax planning;
Amendment 182 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that an exit tax was adopted by the EU in ATAD I, allowing Member States to tax the economic value of capital gain created in its territory even when that gain has not yet been realised at the time of exit; considers that the principle of taxing profits made in Member States before they leave the Union should be strengthened, for example through coordinated withholding taxes on interests and royaltiesdividends, licence fees, interests and royalties, so as to close existing loopholes and avoid profits leaving the EU untaxed; calls on the Council to resume negotiations on the interest and royalties proposal28 ; _________________ 28 Proposal for a Council directive of 11 November 2011 on a common system of taxation applicable to interest and royalty payments made between associated companies of different Member States, COM(2011)0714 - 2011/0314(CNS).
Amendment 219 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 23
Paragraph 23
23. Welcomes the general anti-abuse rule for the purposes of calculating corporate tax liability included in ATAD I, allowing Member States to ignore arrangements that are not genuine and having regard to all relevant facts and circumstances aimed at obtaining a tax advantage; reiterates its repeated call for the adoption of a general and commoncommon and stringent anti-abuse rule, namely in existing legislation and in particular in the parent- subsidiary directive, the merger directive and the interest and royalties directive;
Amendment 428 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 50
Paragraph 50
50. Is concerned by the magnitude of tax unpaid for all Member States over long periods39 ; recalls that the aim of the recovery of unlawful aid is to restore the position to the status quo, and that calculating the exact amount of aid to be repaid is part of the implementation obligation incumbent on the national authorities; points out that the obligation of tax benefits be recovered by the same Member State who granted the unlawful tax advantages results in a double reward for that Member State, raising concerns of fairness and legitimacy in relation to the application of current State aid rules in the context of aggressive tax planning and harmful tax competition; urges the Commission to start working on a revision of the fiscal State aid framework in order to ensure that unpaid taxes are redistributed to the budgets of the Member States where the economic activity took place; in this context, stresses the importance of developing appropriate and transparent methodologies to quantify the amount of losses in tax revenues in the Member States affected as a result of these distortive practices; calls on the Commission to assess possible countermeasures, including fines, to prevent Member States from offering selective favourable tax treatment which constitutes State aid is non- compliant with EU rules; _________________ 39 As in the case of decision of 30 August 2016 (SA.38373) on State aid implemented by Ireland to Apple. The tax rulings in question were issued by Ireland on 29 January 1991 and 23 May 2007.
Amendment 948 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 147
Paragraph 147
147. Is worried about the accelerating corporate tax race to the bottom worldwide and within the EU in terms of nominal tax rate76 77 ; _________________ 76 The average corporate income tax rate across the OECD dropped from 32.5 % in 2000 to 23.9 % in 2018. Overall, 22 of the 38 countries surveyed in the latest tax policy reform 2018 report from the OECD now have combined statutory corporate income tax rates equal to or below 25 %, compared with only six in 2000. Source: OECD and Selected Partner Economies, Tax Policy Reforms 2018. 77 It is also worth noting that the EU 28 are already well below this level, with an average corporate income tax rate in 2018 of 21.9 %, down from 32 % in 2000, according to the Commission: Taxation Trends in the European Union - Data for the EU Member States, Iceland and Norward, 2018 Edition (page 36) and Taxation Trends in the European Union - Data for the EU Member States, Iceland and Norward, 2015 Edition (page 147).
Amendment 991 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 154 a (new)
Paragraph 154 a (new)
154 a. Deeply regrets that EU countries were fully excluded from the screening process of the EU list, although several Member States fail to comply with the EU's own criteria; recalls that according to NGO's assessments, at least four or six EU Member States should be included in the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions if screened against the same criteria set by the EU to screen third countries1a; points out that such ex ante exemption undermines the legitimacy, credibility and effectiveness of the blacklisting tool; _________________ 1a According to the assessment conducted by Oxfam, the four countries are Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta and the Netherlands. Tax Justice Network adds Cyprus and the United Kingdom. Source: Oxfam, Blacklist or whitewash? What a real EU blacklist of tax havens should look like, November 2017; Tax Justice Network, Paradise lost, Who will feature on the common EU blacklist of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions?, November 2017
Amendment 994 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 154 b (new)
Paragraph 154 b (new)
154 b. Welcomes the statement made by the Chair of the Code of Conduct Group during the TAX3 committee hearing of 10 October 2018, which reported that the possibility of screening Member States against the same criteria set for the EU list is under discussion in the context of the revision of the mandate of the Code Group;
Amendment 1006 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 155
Paragraph 155
155. Renews its call for countermeasures aimed at incentivising compliance by the countries listed in Annex I of the EU list; takes note that most countermeasures proposed by the Council are left to national discretion;effective and deterrent countermeasures againstnon- cooperative jurisdictions, both at EU and Member States level,aimed at incentivising good cooperation in tax matters; stresses,however, that the EU list cannot serve as a basis for the implementation of countermeasures, as long as it continues to disproportionately target small and lower-income countries, omitting the most notorious tax havens, and the overall listing process is not credible, unbiased and fully transparent, as highlighted by experts during the hearing held on 15 May1a; reiterates its call on the Commission to refrain from concluding trade agreements with jurisdictions that do not comply with the EU tax good governance standards and, if applicable, to suspend or review existing ones; takes note that most countermeasures proposed by the Council are left to national discretion; _________________ 1a Contributions by Alex Cobham (Tax Justice Network) and Johan Langerock (Oxfam), TAX3 committee hearing on the fight against harmful tax practices within the EU and abroad, 15 May 2018.
Amendment 1011 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 156
Paragraph 156
156. Calls on the Member States to adopt a single set of strong countermeasures, including, inter alia, automatic CFC rules, withholding taxes on payments to low-tax jurisdictions, penalties, or the suspension/termination of double taxation agreements, for blacklisted jurisdictions, unless the taxpayers convey genuine economic activities there; invites both tax administrations and taxpayers to cooperate to gather the relevant facts in case the controlled foreign company carries out substantive real economic activity and has substantial economic presence supported by staff, equipment, assets and premises, as evidenced by relevant facts and circumstances;
Amendment 1012 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 156 a (new)
Paragraph 156 a (new)
156 a. Stresses the urgent need to stop EU funds from being channelled via tax havens, while ensuring that targeted aid is still provided to the people in need; welcomes in this regard the general provision on tax good governance, inserted in the revised Financial Regulation of 18 July 2018, prohibiting implementing partners managing EU funds to support projects or actions that contribute to tax avoidance, tax fraud and tax evasion;
Amendment 1015 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 157 a (new)
Paragraph 157 a (new)
157 a. Reiterates its call on competent authorities to impose the suspension or withdrawal of licenses on financial institutions and intermediaries who are proven to be involved in assisting or enabling tax fraud, aggressive tax planning and money laundering;
Amendment 1016 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 157 b (new)
Paragraph 157 b (new)
157 b. Renews its call to introduce a ban on EU-based financial institutions and intermediaries from operating in jurisdictions included in the EU list of non cooperative tax jurisdictions and the EU list of countries with strategic deficiencies in their AML/CFT regimes;
Amendment 1036 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 160
Paragraph 160
160. Calls for a global summit on remaining necessarythe urgently needed fundamental global tax reforms in order to enhance international cooperamove towards a fair and sustainable taxation system, enhance international cooperation, strengthen tax revenue collection and put pressure on all countries, in particular their financial centres, to comply with transparency and fair taxation standards; calls for the Commission to take the initiative for such a summit and for the summit to allow for the establishment of the abovementioned global tax body;
Amendment 1042 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 160 a (new)
Paragraph 160 a (new)
160 a. Calls on the EU to promote a global corporate tax reform based on the unitary taxation with formulary apportionment of MNEs, in order to effectively eliminate profit-shifting to low- tax jurisdictions and stop tax avoidance;