Activities of Claude GRUFFAT related to 2022/2146(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on further reform of corporate taxation rules
Amendments (55)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 15 a (new)
Citation 15 a (new)
– having regard to Council Regulation 2022/1854 of 6 October 2022 on an emergency intervention to address high energy prices;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 17
Citation 17
– having regard to the state of the union speech by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the European Parliament plenary on 19 October 2022 on the preparations for the European Council meeting of 20- 21 Octoberin Septembre 2022,;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 a (new)
Citation 17 a (new)
– having regard to the 2023 Commission Country reports in its European Semester;
Amendment 8 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 17 b (new)
Citation 17 b (new)
– having regards to the intervention of the European Central Bank (ECB) President Christine Lagarde at the Monetary Dialogue in the European Parliament the 5th June 2023;
Amendment 9 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 18 a (new)
Citation 18 a (new)
– having regards to the Commission's annual report on taxaation 2023; 1a _________________ 1a https://taxation- customs.ec.europa.eu/taxation- 1/economic-analysis-taxation/annual- report-taxation_en
Amendment 10 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 19
Citation 19
Amendment 11 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 19 a (new)
Citation 19 a (new)
– having regard to its resolution of 29 November 2018 on gender equality and taxation policies in the EU ;1a _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/doceo/doc ument/A-8-2018-0416_EN.html
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 23 a (new)
Citation 23 a (new)
– having regards to its resolution of 15 June 2023 on the lessons learnt from the Pandora Papers and other revelations;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas Member States are free to decide on their own economic policies, in particular their own tax policies within the boundaries of the EU Treaties; whereas, although tax policy largely remains a responsibility of the Member States, the single market requires coordination in setting tax policy in order to further single market integration and to avoid harmful tax competition which often leads to a race to the bottom ;
Amendment 34 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas some European companies are battling strong headwinds as a result of the current adverse economic and social situationsfacing adverse economic and social situations when others are making windfall profits; whereas growing evidence indicates inflation being partially profit driven ;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, Chevron, and TotalEnergies, the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies, reported a total of around $200 billion in profits in 2022, nearly 120% more than the previous year, and the highest level in the industry’s history 1a ; _________________ 1a https://www.ft.com/content/fe60488e- 58bb-4cee-bdbb-c915e2155cd6 , https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/big-oil- rakes-in-record-annual-profit-fueling- calls-for-higher-taxes.html
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Bc. whereas the Council agreed to a temporary solidarity contribution from companies in the crude petroleum, natural gas, coal and refinery sectors, that have earned surplus profits due to the sudden and unpredictable circumstances of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the BEPS action plan managed to establish a global consensus on many, amongst OECD countries, on some issues regarding the fight against aggressive tax planning; whereas on many other issues the OECD didn’t manage in bringing forward a clear set of recommendations leading to divergences between countries;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the EU led by example in transposing international agreements into a high number of tax directives improving coordination and the EU’s fight against aggressive tax planning; whereas some Member States in the Council pushed for a weak implementation of the OECD BEPS action plan; whereas Member State transposed these anti-tax avoidance directives in various ways leading to tax policy fragmentation and new avoidance opportunities;
Amendment 63 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas as of 16 December 2022, 138 statejurisdictions, including all EU Member States, had agreed on the reform of the international tax system through a two- pillar solution;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F
Recital F
F. whereas tax policy fragmentation creates various obstacles for citizens and companies in the single market, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), workers and self- employed; whereas these obstacles discourage cross-border economic activity and can distort the single market;
Amendment 74 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas both the average top statutory corporate income tax rate in EU countries and the effective tax rates on privately owned capital have been on a downwards trend in recent decades while taxes on labour and consumption have increased; whereas taxes as a measure of costs for investment have been declining as well;1a _________________ 1a https://taxation- customs.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2023- 07/ART%20- %20Report%202023_Digital%20Version. pdf
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Fb. Whereas the long-term trends in taxation that have taken place in Member States during the last few decades have weakened the redistributive power of tax systems, which also impacts on gender equality;1a _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2017/583138/IPOL_STU(20 17)583138_EN.pdf
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)
Recital F d (new)
Fd. whereas a well functioning corporate income tax is essential to sustain the progressivity of the overall tax system;
Amendment 84 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the debt-equity bias in corporate taxation allows for generous tax deductions on interest payments leading to the debt-equity bias ; whereas tax deductions on interest payments are estimated to cost 245 billion EUR; whereas equity financing costs cannot beare not deducted in a similar manner;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas to date no comprehensive analytical framework to examine gender implications of corporate taxation exists, one factor causing this research gap is the lack of data;1a _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2017/583138/IPOL_STU(20 17)583138_EN.pdf
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Recalls that EU Member States cooperating on corporate taxation is not a goal in itself, but rather a toola key instrument to complete, improve and further develop the single market while stopping harmful tax competition and profit shifting, fighting against tax avoidance and evasion more effectively as well as facilitating revenue mobilisation in period of crisis such as the recently adopted solidarity contribution;
Amendment 109 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)
Paragraph 1 a (new)
1a. Observes that some of the fundamental tax obstacles and distortions in the Internal Market will only be addressed by a substantial harmonisation of corporate taxation in the EU;
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the European Council conclusTakes note of the Commission communications of 2316 March 2023 calling for the general regulatory environment to be simplified and for the administrative burdunderlining that the EU tax framework is key in supporting growth and private investment, in particular by removing tax barriers to cross-border investment; Believes that the EU must generally promote harmonised and efficient to be reduced, and the Commission communication of 16 March 2023 underlining that the EU tax framework is key in supporting growth and private investment, in particular by removing tax barriers to cross-border investmentaxation procedures and reduce legal uncertainty; recommends therefore to lift tax barriers by easing the tax compliance for cross-border businesses, workers and self-employed; warns however against the further decrease of corporate and capital taxation in the EU in light of budgetary pressures, inflation and the urgent need to sustain and even increase revenues, and redistribute more effectively;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that it is paramount to fight aggressive profit shifting while promoting fiscaland achieve fairness, transparency, gender equality and certainty, and while keeping taxes at levels that support sustainableinclusive, societal and economic growthwelfare;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Takes note ofWelcomes the numerous tax directives since 2011 that have led to fairer, simpler and more effective corporate taxation in the EU, and to a high number of tax compliance obligations on companies within the EU21 ; _________________ 21 See notably the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directives (ATAD I and ATAD II), the amendments of the Directive on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation (DAC 1 to DAC 7), the revision of the Parent Subsidiary Directive, the EU Dispute Settlement Directive, the Public Country-by-Country Reporting Directive, or the Pillar Two Directive.; Deplores that the Council could not find an agreement on harmonising the corporate income tax base for large companies;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Deplores the fact that the Member States have implemented and applied tax directives in a divergent manner, undermining the proper functioning of the single market and leading to misalignment in tax bases, more red tape and higher compliance costs; Observes that the Anti- Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) granted too much leeway to Member States resulting in considerable fragmentation of the internal market; Considers that a reduction of the number of options in the directive should lead to a more homogenous anti-avoidance landscape across all Member States;1a 2a _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2022/703353/IPOL_STU(20 22)703353_EN.pdf 2a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2022/733964/IPOL_STU(20 22)733964_EN.pdf
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 1
Subheading 1
Amendment 147 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Notes that the estimated tax compliance costs for large multinational enterprises (MNEs) amount to aboutcompanies in the EU range between 1% and 2 % of taxes paid, while for SMEs the estimate is about 30 % of taxes paid; recalls that European companies, in particularurnover; notes that multinational tax planning can lead to higher tax liabilities for SMEs; Recalls that SMEs, are the main enhancers of economic growth and job creation;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Observes that in the single market, cross-border activities for workers and the self-employed remain administratively complex from a tax and social security perspective; observes, further, that the increased possibility of telework has exacerbated this problem;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Warns against the impact of teleworking on personal income tax and tax residence in the EU; calls on the Commission to take the necessary legislative measures to harmonise or better coordinate the tax residence of individuals and self-employed persons in the EU and the cross-border implications of personal income tax; notes that personal income tax is the biggest source of tax revenue for most EU Member States;
Amendment 154 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Calls on the Commission to present an overall evaluation of actions taken on corporate taxation since 2011 and to immediately ease the burden on businesses by invoking a regulatory moratorium and delaymap all divergences in transposition ing those tax acts that would unnecessarily increase costs for businesses already under straine EU; considers that the harmonisation of rules is expected to bring benefits in the form of lower compliance costs; cCalls on the Commission to carry out competitiveness checks for new legislative tax proposals, as requested by the European Council for all new proposals on 22 March prioritise simplicity and clarity in future tax proposals reducing the introduction of options and exceptions for Member States; 1a _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/ etudes/STUD/2023/642353/IPOL_STU(20 23; )642353_EN.pdf
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)
Paragraph 7 a (new)
7a. Recalls the European Union and Member States’ commitments to policy coherence for development; Calls on the Commission to undertake a spillover analysis of the impacts of EU tax policies on developing countries’ domestic revenue mobilisation and exposure to corporate tax avoidance;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Welcomes the proposal of the Conference on the Future of Europe of 9 May 2022 for a competitiveness check to analyse the impact, among other things, of new tax legislation on companies and their business environments; awaits impatiently the implementation of the announcement by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen of 19 October 2022 introducing a standard competitiveness check in EU regulation; on harmonising and coordinating tax policies such as taxing big polluters and digital giants, preventing tax avoidance and evasion; avoiding tax havens in the EU, ensuring a just transition through a reform of the tax systems with fairer taxation and anti- fraud measures, introducing health taxes on processed food, and ensuring that tax policy supports European industry and prevents job losses; 1a _________________ 1a https://www.europarl.europa.eu/resources /library/media/20220509RES29121/20220 509RES29121.pdf
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Takes note of the renewed debate on tax incentives following the US Inflation Reduction Act; calls on the Commission to allow forWarns against a harmful, untargeted subsidy race in the European Union benefiting solely large companies and their shareholders; warns exsperimentation with tax credits; insists, nevertheless, that all decisions should be taken in a coordinated manner to preserve the functioning of the single marketcially against accelerated aggressive tax competition through the use of tax credits; observes that OECD Pillar Two introduces an advantageous treatment for refundable tax credits, which are in effect direct subsidies through the tax system; calls on the EU to draw up rules defining harmful tax credits; emphasises that tax credits should not serve the sole purpose of lowering the tax burden of large companies at the expense of public coffers and undermining global minimum tax rates;
Amendment 176 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Emphasises that tax incentives should aim to attract real investments, meaning tangible assets and employment; notes with concern that a significant amount of government funding is already being lost through ineffective tax exemptions, deductions, credits, deferrals and reduced tax rates; urges Member States to carefully design tax incentives so that the benefits to society outweigh the costs for public coffers; calls on Member States to perform annual, detailed and public cost-benefit analyses of each tax provision;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 b (new)
Paragraph 9 b (new)
9b. Calls for the phasing out of tax exemptions and subsidies for fossil fuels no later than 2025;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Calls on the Member States to engage in policies of full expensing for capital investments and to make capital allowance provisions permanent in order to improve real investments and to assist Europe’sCommission to assess carefully the potential benefits of full expensing for capital investments for urgently needed investments to reach the climate targets; calls on the Commission to consider in its assessment the costs and benefits of full expensing, especially the revenue impact on Member States; warns that such measure should be introduced in a coordinated manner to avoid further fragmentation, profit shifting and tax competitivenesson;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Member States, in the light of high inflation rates, to use the additional revenues based on higher energy prices directly to relieve the burden on companies, especially SMEshelp the most vulnerable by encouraging price reductions, direct income support, vouchers and to relieve the burden fromthe SMEs that have been quite impacted by the crisis; regrets large companies misusing their market power to unjustly increase profit margins and drive inflation;
Amendment 189 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Welcomes the adopted solidarity contribution in the EU; regrets, however, its limited scope and short time span; calls on the Commission to consider a permanent excess profit tax on all sectors, in light of the growing evidence that inflation is partly profit driven; believes that such taxes would curb the oligopolistic power of certain companies and boost competitiveness, while fighting inflation and raising revenue;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Takes note ofWelcomes the two-pillar solution reached at the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on the allocation of taxing rights and the application of a minimum effective tax rate of 15 % on the global profits of MNEs;
Amendment 202 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Observes that, in addition to coping with a volatile business environment and an increasing number of EU tax directives, companies are focusing their financial and human resources on applying the Pillar Two rules; calls onCalls on the Member States and the Commission to givesupport companies breathing space and enough time to prepare for the possible new BEFITin applying the Pillar Two rules;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Recalls the Commission to issue its announced initiative on the annual publication of the effective corporate tax rate of certain large companies with operations in the EU, using the methodology agreed for the Pillar Two calculations, as foreseen in its communication “Business Taxation for the 21st Century”;
Amendment 216 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Regrets that the shipping industry is under-taxed and even excluded from the OECD/G20 Pillar Two agreement; supports the call for a multilateral initiative to tax international shipping activities from a profit and carbon perspective;
Amendment 223 #
14. Calls on the Commission to guide all the Member States towards a simplified tax system to reduce the administrative burdenease compliance for companies, especially SMEs; acknowledges that simplifying refund procedures, deductwelcomes the recent Commission's and litigation are other solutions to reduce the administrative burden, especially for SMEsproposal - FASTER - on simplifying withholding tax procedures in the EU;
Amendment 232 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14a. Notes that research underlines that only the more complex MNEs shift profits away, while MNEs with flat ownership structures do not display such pattern 1a; calls on the Council to come to an agreement on the UNSHELL proposal without further delay; supports and encourages the up-take of voluntary tax transparency frameworks such as GRI 207 and voluntary tax codes of conduct for businesses by large companies; _________________ 1a https://www.taxobservatory.eu/publication /tax-avoidance-and-the-complexity-of- multinational-enterprises/
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Recalls that simplifying the complexity of the legal framework for corporate tax systemsthrough harmonisation, increasing legal certainty and good governance helps to attract foreign direct investment and reduces the risk of companies relocating to non-EU countries;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reiterates its consideration that the BEFIT initiative should be supported by the political process in building political support for change and that the initiative should be accompanied by a thorough impact assessment going beyond the mere impact on corporate tax revenues in each Member State; considers essential to ensure all sectors are covered by the future BEFIT reform, including the financial sector; warns the Commission to be cautious in including intangible assets to the allocation formula;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Takes note of the BEFIT objectives, as addressed in the Commission’s call for evidence for an impact assessment, to increase businesses’ resilience by reducing the complexity of tax rules and the compliance costs faced by EU businesses with cross-border operations, to remove obstacles to cross- border investment and make the single market a more attractive location for international investment, to create an environment conducive to fair and sustainable growth by paving the way for administrative simplification, and to provide sustainable tax revenue, which is particularly important in the current challenging economic climateto face societal challenges ; Notes that limiting tax competition and fighting corporate tax avoidance are key objectives as well ;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Takes note of the Commission proposal of 11 May 2022 addressing the debt-equity bias; deplores the Council decision of 6 December 2022 to suspend the examination of the proposal; calls on the Council to relaunch negotiations on this proposalwarns for the high cost of this proposal in view of increasing interest rates;
Amendment 283 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Highlights that tax incentives applied in a Calls on the Commission and Member States to signifiscalntly responsible manner for privateboost research and, development (e.g. via tax credits, enhanced allowanceand innovation budgets for adjusted depreciation schedules) can help lift an economy’s overall spending tochieving the objective of 3 % of EU GDP in a coordinated manner; wardns research and development, which often comes with positive externaliagainst ineffective R&D tax incentives; recalls that corporate spending on research and development was equal to 1.5 % of EU GDP in 2020, compared to 2.6 % in the US and Japan, according to the European Investment Bank’s 2022/2023 investment report; calls on the Commission to present an assessment of tax incentives for private research and development such as the widespread use of patent boxes in the Union; emphasises that in order to be effective, tax incentives should focus on investments made and not profits;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Amendment 292 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 b (new)
Paragraph 21 b (new)
21b. Recalls the Commission to come forward with a proposal based on article 116 TFEU to tackle harmful tax practices distorting competition in the single market;