28 Amendments of Molly SCOTT CATO related to 2014/2144(INI)
Amendment 3 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 38 a (new)
Citation 38 a (new)
- having regard to its resolution on 5 February 2014 on A 2030 framework for climate and energy policies,
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas although it has been widely recognised that a well-balanced, growth- orientedprogressive tax system is crucial for generating sustainable growtheconomic development, sufficient concrete action has not yet been undertaken;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas many businesses, in particular multinationals, commonly structure their global tax position in a way that allows profit shifting towards lower tax jurisdictions or seek to secure preferential treatment to reduce their tax payments; whereas many Member States have actively encouraged this type of aggressive tax planning;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas an EU-wide energy tax linked to the calorific content of fuels and their carbon output would be a powerful incentive to make the transition beyond a fossil-based economy and reduce CO2 pollution; whereas if the revenue from such a tax were invested in public services and welfare services it could effect a significant transfer of wealth towards those citizens who have a higher propensity to consume;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the agreement on the Automatic Exchange of Information and the prospects for a swift implementation thereof; calls for tax agreements to be concluded alsoon Luxembourg and Austria to fully end banking secrecy as of January 2015; calls for tax agreements currently negotiated with third countries to be concluded before 31 December 2014 and to open negotiations with other third countries, such as Singapore;
Amendment 82 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Condemns unfettered tax competition and the massive damage it causes to the internal market;
Amendment 85 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Is extremely concerned that EUR 177 billion22 in VAT revenues was lost due to non-compliance or non-collection in 2012; is also concerned that the complexity of VAT rules across the Union can create an undue burden for SMEs; __________________ 22 http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/resou rces/documents/common/publications/studi es/vat_gap2012.pdf
Amendment 89 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls on the Commission to put forward concrete proposals to tackle the VAT gap, taking into account the recent proposals as adopted by the Council, and to evaluate proposals on a definite VAT system by Spring 2015, including an exemption for all businesses with a turnover of less than €100,000;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Takes noteRegrets the lack of ambition of the joint statement of 6 May 2014 by 10 MSs on enhanced cooperation on the FTT and the progress of its implementation; calls on participating MSs to reach an agreement on the FTT with a broad base, including derivative transactions by the end of 2014; calls on other MS to consider joining the FTT;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Calls on MSs to agree to a compulsory CCCTB for cross border companies as a comprehensive and long-term solution to tackle company tax obstacles in the Single Market; welcomes statements made by Vestager and Moscovici on making this a political priority;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8a. Calls for an EU-wide minimum tax rate to help complete the single market;
Amendment 132 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Welcomes the courage of the whistleblowers at the origins of Luxleaks, without which the serious discussion on how to clamp down on corporate tax dodging of industrial scale would not be taking place; calls for more insiders to transmit information such as revealed through Luxleaks to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists; calls for stronger protection of whistleblowers and for the establishment of a legal aid fund;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Commission to develop further initiatives to promote good governance in tax matters in third countries, to tackle aggressive tax planning and to address double taxation gaps; double taxation agreements between EU Member States with third party countries must be based on common standards; in general, no double taxation agreements should be entered into with tax havens;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Welcomes country-by-country (CbC) reporting for banks as defined in CRD; calls on the Commission to introduce as a next step CbC reporting for cross-border companies in all sectors and in all the countries in which they operate through an immediate revision of the accounting directive;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Strongly regrets the opposition of most Member States and the Commission to make easily and publically accessible sufficiently clear information on the beneficial ownership of companies, trusts, foundations and other legal entities; calls on Member States to ensure full transparency and accessibility when implementing the Anti-Money Laundering directive;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Requests that information exchange is extended to cross-border tax rulings to ensure that all companies operating in the EU fulfil their obligations in all MSs and enhance transparencyCalls on the Commission to propose an amendment to the accounting directive obliging companies to notify tax rulings granted by one Member States to all Member States in which they operate, and publish essential elements of these rulings in their annual reports;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Regrets that national reforms in the public sector have resulted in inadequate staffing and resource allocation to national tax administrations and tax audit authorities; regrets that priority is often given to tax avoidance on a small scale, rather than large multinationals; recommends to MS to increase their staffing of tax administrations, as any costs spent in extra staffing would be outweighed by the additional tax revenues;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Calls on the Commission to propose, and on MSs to agree on, a common EU position and a set of criteria for the definition of tax havens; recalls the call for appropriate measures, including a public European blacklist of tax havens, by 31 December 2014; the definition should include but should not be limited to the following: "Provision for tax measures which entail no or nominal taxes, a lack of effective exchange of information with foreign tax authorities and a lack of transparency in legislative, legal or administrative provisions, or where advantages are granted even without any real economic activity and substantial economic presence within country offering such tax advantages";
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18a. Strongly condemns Member States that have allowed or even encouraged their tax authorities to issue tax rulings that have led to the disconnecting of taxation and economic activity, and that as a consequence significantly contributed to the erosion of public finances;
Amendment 218 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls upon the Commission to intensify its use of EU state aid rules against aggressive tax planning as embodied by tax rulings and other measures; regrets that the Commission in this respect appears to have failed for over 20 years in its duty set out in article 108 TFEU to keep under constant review all systems of aid existing in Member States, and that a tax ruling such as the one for Apple in Ireland from the early 1990s is only being investigated in 201; highlights that it is hence the Commission obligation to speedily assess thousands of tax rulings issued in the past decades;
Amendment 224 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19a. Underlines that if it is established that individual tax deals constitute illegal state aid, the sums must be recouped by member states concerned; argues that as the damage of such practices impacts on the entire EU, that the recovered funds should go directly towards the funding of the €300 billion investment plan for Europe, proposed by Commission president Juncker;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 b (new)
Paragraph 19 b (new)
19b. Calls for a Parliamentary inquiry committee to- investigate alleged contraventions or maladministration in the application of Article 107(1) TFEU regarding a very high number of tax rulings issued in Member States at least since the early 1990s; - assess the Commission's breach of its duty set out in article 108 TFEU to keep under constant review all systems of aid existing in Member States, to propose to the Member States appropriate measures required by the progressive development or by the functioning of the internal market, to check, whether the aid granted by a State or through State resources is compatible with the internal market and not misused, to decide that the State concerned shall abolish or alter such aid within a certain period of time and refer the matter to the Court of Justice , if the State concerned does not comply; - investigate possible contraventions of obligations set out in Council Regulation (EC) No 659/1999 of 22 March 1999 laying down detailed rules for the application of Article 108 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, as subsequently amended, regarding the obligation to cooperate and provide all necessary documents; - assess possible breach by some Member States of the sincere cooperation principles enshrined in Article 4(3) TEU, such as the obligations to facilitate the achievement of the Union's task and to refrain from any measure which could jeopardise the attainment of the Union's objectives, given the alleged large scale of aggressive tax planning facilitated by Member States, and the likely significant consequences this has had on public finances of and in the EU; - make any proposals that it deems necessary in this matter;
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 c (new)
Paragraph 19 c (new)
19c. Highlights that should there be any suspicion that these massive tax deals had a material impact on the financial contributions of member states to the EU budget, an investigation by the EU's anti- fraud arm OLAF might also be warranted;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Calls on MSs to shift the tax burden away from labour to other forms of sustainable and indirect taxation in order to promote growth and job creaand towards resources, including land, which are in short supply and whose exploitation or extraction is environmentally damaging, and especially resources whose extraction or use contributes to climate change; calls on MSs to create appropriate economic incentives consistent with the 2030 vision by enhancing taxes on pollution, especially climate-related pollution;
Amendment 290 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Underlines the fact that MSs’ taxation policy on environmental taxes should be aligned with the EU 2030 strategy; recognises that an increase in environmental taxes has the potential to generate revenues and jobs; calls on the Commission not to scrap the Energy Taxation Directive but instead to revive discussions and to come forward with appropriate complementary legislative proposals;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Calls for the ending of tax advantages and exemptions granted to the aviation industry; calls for the ending of the distorting impact of lower fuel duty for diesel which adds to air pollution;
Amendment 297 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Calls on the Commission to systematically issue country specific recommendations to phase out fossil subsidies and to shift taxes away from labour towards environmentally harmful activities;
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 b (new)
Paragraph 26 b (new)
26b. Proposes an EU wide energy tax linked to the calorific content of fuels and their carbon output, where fees are charged at the point of extraction; proposes that revenues from such a system are redistributed towards investment in public services and welfare spending; underlines that this could bring about significant redistribution of wealth from those who have higher energy use towards the more vulnerable members of our societies;