Activities of Bernd LUCKE related to 2016/2038(INI)
Plenary speeches (2)
Tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect (TAXE 2) (A8-0223/2016 - Jeppe Kofod, Michael Theurer) DE
Tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect (TAXE 2) (debate) DE
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect PDF (1 MB) DOC (506 KB)
Amendments (25)
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
Ca. whereas the Commission is the Guardian of the Treaties and must ensure a level playing field for all companies in the single market; whereas tax avoidance was often possible by silent collusion between multinational companies and government authorities in some Member States, whereas such collusion must be suspected to be illegal state aid, whereas in the 25 years between 1991 and 2015 the Commission concluded only 65 state aid cases; whereas the tax ruling practice in some Member States suggests that the number of actual tax-related state aid cases is much higher; whereas the procedure applied and selection criteria chosen by the Commission to start in- depth investigation of a few cases suspected of illegal state aid in the form of tax rulings is not transparent and possibly arbitrary;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas supposedly one third of all corporate investments are channelled through offshore financial constructions;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas convergence 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; whereas the Commission should not only investigate a limited number of dubious tax treatments but consider in a non-selective and unbiased way all cases suspected to be illegal state aid by means of preferential tax treatments;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas some specific tax jurisdictions actively contribute to designing aggressive tax policies on behalf of MNEs who thereby avoid taxation; whereas the corporate tax rate in some jurisdictions is close or equal to zero per cent; whereas the complexity of different tax systems create a lack of transparency which is globally harmful; whereas also on the national level corporate tax systems often suffer from a lack of transparency;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital H
Recital H
H. whereas some specific tax jurisdictions are not willingslow to reform their tax systems, despite the ongoing global initiatives and despite the fact that some of them are involved in the work of the OECD;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital L
Recital L
L. whereas some financial institutions have played a role as intermediaries in setting up complex legal structures leading to aggressive tax planning schemes used by MNEs, as evidenced in ‘LuxLeaks’ and the ‘Panama Papers’; whereas legal loopholes and lack of coordination, cooperation and transparency between countries create an environment that facilitates tax evasion; whereas banks could have played a positive role in combating the erosion of national tax bases by, for instance, using the means of exchange of information at their disposal in a more cooperative spirit;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Calls on the Commission to better explain the criteria by which a very limited number of suspicious tax ruling cases have been selected for review by the Commission, reiterates its concern that tax rulings could be used to give selective benefits to companies and distort competition, stresses that the Commission must ensure an equal playing field between MNEs and SMEs also in retrospect;
Amendment 242 #
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 way hindering, hampering or stifling the capacity of whistleblowers and journalists to document and reveal illegal, wrongful and harmful practices wto the re this is clearly and overwhelmingly in the public interestlevant authority, and, if the relevant authority does not take appropriate action, to the general public; regrets that the Commission has no plans for prompt action on the matter;
Amendment 248 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. NotWelcomes that the Commission has launched a consultation on dispute settlement mechanisms to avoid double taxation;
Amendment 266 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Calls on the Commission to come up as soon as possible withpropose a method, possibly involving decisions by an independent, scientific body, for setting up a common Union list of uncooperative jurisdictions (i.e. a ‘blacklist of tax havens’), based on sound and objective criteria, including full implementation of OECD recommendations, BEPS actions and Automatic Exchange of Information standards, and welcomes the Commission’s intention to reach an agreement on such a list within the next six months; calls on the Member States to endorse that agreementsks Member States to endorse the method without delay; calls on the Union to set up a blacklist as soon as the method has been accepted by a qualified majority of Member States, preferably by the end of 2016;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls for a concrete Union regulatory framework for sanctions against the blacklisted non-cooperative jurisdictions, including, but not limited to, the possibility of reviewing and, in the last resort, suspending free trade agreements and prohibiting access to Union funds; calls for the sanctions also to apply to companies, banks, and accountancy and law firms, and to tax advisers proven to be involved within illegal activities in those jurisdictions;
Amendment 295 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Member States to renegotiate their bilateral tax treaties with third countries in order to introduce anti- abuse clauses and thus prevent ‘treaty shopping’; stresses furthermore thatthat this renegotiation is in the best interest of each Member State so that there is no reason to assume this process wcould be expedited considerablhandled in a more expeditious way if the Commission were mandated by Member States to negotiate such tax treaties on behalf of the Unionto act on their behalf;
Amendment 305 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Recommends introducing an EU- wide withholding tax, in order to ensure that all profits generated within the Union are taxed at least oncesubject to tax before leaving it; notes that such a proposal should include a refund system to prevent doublethis can be accomplished by refining national corporate and capital gains taxation laws;
Amendment 323 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
Amendment 332 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
Amendment 342 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21a. Observes that some national tax administrations, probably with the silent consent of their political leadership, have actively designed, offered or approved tax planning schemes for multinational enterprises;
Amendment 348 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22 a (new)
Paragraph 22 a (new)
22a. Is concerned about the lack of transparency and adequate documentation within national tax administrations pertaining to the competitive effects of transfer price decisions, patent box settings, tax rulings and other elements of discretionary corporate taxation;
Amendment 370 #
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 proved to be involved in designing, advising on the use of, or utilising illegal 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 371 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
Amendment 393 #
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 on the protection of whistleblowers with a view to preventing prosecution in such cascases in which whistleblowers have acted in nothing but the public interest;
Amendment 430 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35
Paragraph 35
Amendment 461 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Calls for the creation of a new Union Tax Policy Coherence and Coordination Centre to guarantee the proper and coherent functioning of the single market and the implementation of international standards; believes that this new body should be in charge of monitoring Member States’ tax policies at Union level, of ensuring that no new harmful tax measures are implemented by Member States, of monitoring compliance of Member States with the common Union list of uncooperative jurisdictions, of ensuring and fostering cooperation between national tax administrations (e.g. training and exchange of best practices), and tof initiatinge academic programmes in the field; believes that by doing so this Centreode of Conduct Group could help prevent new tax loopholes emerging thanks to uncoordinated policy initiatives between Member States, and counteract tax practices and standards that would upset, obstruct or interfere in the proper functioning and rationale of the single market; considers that the Centre could benefit from the pooling of expertise at Union and national level, so as to reduce the burden on the taxpayer;
Amendment 499 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
Amendment 510 #
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 emphasizes that unilateral steps by the EU beyond BEPS may have detrimental effects on future US willingness to agree on bi- or multilateral measures as the US might be frustrated with seeing the Transatlantic Trade Investment Partnership (TTIP) in order to ensure a level playing field,EU just acting as it pleases, regrets that this might have negative repercussions on the aim of createing more value for society as a whole and combating tax fraud and avoidance;
Amendment 526 #
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 theax authorities, companies and private citizens involved with the Panama papers scandal with a view to tackling legislative loopholes;