[ParlTrack]

Motion for a resolution
Recital W

W. whereas the overall efficiency of tax collection, the notion of tax fairness and the credibility of national tax administrations are not undermined only by aggressive tax planning and BEPS activities; whereas the Union should take similarly decisive action to address the problems of tax evasion and tax fraud within both corporate and individual taxation as well as problems relating to the collection of taxes other than corporate taxes; whereas those other elements of tax collection and administration represent a substantial part of the existing tax gap;

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Recital X

X. whereas the Commission should therefore also consider how it will address those wider issues, including difficulties in the collection of VAT (which in some Member States constitutes a major source of national income) and the negative consequences of some tax amnesties or non-transparent 'tax forgiveness' schemes; whereas any such new measures should involve consideration of the balance of costs and benefits.deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – Subtitle 1 – indent 2 – point 1

the results of the Commission’s consultation into CBC-R, conducted between 17 June and 9 September 2015, which examined different options for the possible implementation of CBC-R in the Union; the results of the consultation should be considered particularly in relation to the protection of sensitive corporate data and company secrets;

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – subtitle 2

Recommendation A2. A new ‘Fair Tax Payer’ label for companies who engage in good tax practices The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to bring forward a proposal as soon as possible on a voluntary European ‘Fair Tax Payer’ label, as a ‘soft measure’ promoting a standard for companies wishing to indicate they are fully tax compliant. • The proposal should include a European framework of eligibility criteria, under which the label could be awarded by national bodies. • This framework of eligibility criteria should make clear that the ‘Fair Tax Payer’ label is only awarded to those companies that have gone above and beyond the letter of what is required of them under Union and national law.deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – subtitle 3 – introductory part

The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to bring forward a proposal as soon as possible on a new mechanism whereby Member States are compelled to inform other Member States ~~(initially via the Code of Conduct Group)~~and the Commission’s Directorate- General for Competition if they intend to introduce a new allowance, relief, exception, incentive or similar measure that could have a material impact on the effective tax rate in the Member State or on the tax base of another Member State.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – subtitle 3 – indent 1

These notifications by Member States shall contain spillover a~~nalyse~~ssessments of the material impact of the new tax measures on other Member States and developing countries~~, to support the action of the Code of Conduct Group in identifying harmful tax practices~~.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – subtitle 3 – indent 2

~~These new tax measures should also be assessed by the European Commission, included in the European Semester process, and recommendations should be made for follow-up.~~deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – subtitle 4

Recommendation A4. Automatic exchange of information on tax rulings to be extended to all tax rulings and to a certain extent made public The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to complement its proposal from March 2015 amending the Directive 2011/16/EU , which includes proposals for the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) on tax rulings, by: • Extending the scope of the automatic exchange of information beyond cross- border tax rulings to include all tax rulings in the corporate tax area. • Significantly increasing the transparency of tax rulings at the EU level, with due consideration given to business confidentiality and trade secrets and taking into account the current best practices applicable in some Member States via one of the following methods: ° requiring Member States or the Commission to produce an annual list, published in a fully public directory accessible to all, of companies with which they have concluded tax rulings, one year at the most after the tax ruling is signed by tax authorities ; ° requiring Member States or the Commission to publish a summary of the main important (anonymised) tax rulings that have been agreed in the previous year. • Assuming full responsibility as proposed in the tax transparency package presented by the Commission on 18 March 2015, which includes the Commission ensuring that it plays a full and meaningful role in the mandatory exchange of information on tax rulings and the creation of a secure central directory accessible by the Member States and the Commission concerning all tax rulings agreed in the Union.deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – subtitle 6

Recommendation A6. Commission estimate of the corporate tax gap The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to: • Create, on the basis of best practices currently used by Member States, a harmonised methodology that can be used to estimate the size of the direct and indirect corporate tax gaps - the difference between corporate taxes owed and corporate taxes paid - in all Member States, and across the Union as a whole. • Work with Member States to ensure the provision of necessary data to be analysed using the methodology in order to produce the most accurate figures possible. • Use the agreed methodology and necessary data in order to produce and publish, biannually, an estimate of the direct and indirect corporate tax gaps in all Member States and across the Union.deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – subtitle 7 – indent 2

~~Ensure that the right to freedom of expression and information in relation to corporate taxation is preserved in the European Union;~~deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – subtitle 7 – indent 3

~~Such protection should be coherent with the overall legal system;~~deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – subtitle 7 – indent 4

Such a legislative proposal should take as its basis the existing Market Abuse Regulation, as well as the text of the Directive on the Protection of Trade Secrets once it has been agreed by the European Parliament and European Council;deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 2 – subtitle 1

Recommendation B1. Introduction of a Common Corporate Tax Base The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to bring forward as soon as possible a legislative proposal for the introduction of a common corporate tax base: As a first step, by June 2016, a mandatory Common Corporate Tax Base (CCTB) in the Union, with an exemption for small- and medium-sized enterprises and companies with no cross-border activity, in order to have only one set of rules for companies operating in several Member States to calculate their taxable profits. As a second step, as soon as possible and certainly no later than the end of 2017, a mandatory CCCTB, taking into due consideration the range of different options (factoring in the costs, for example, of incorporating small and medium enterprises and companies with no cross-border activity); During the interim period between the introduction of mandatory CCTB and that of full CCCTB, a set of measures to reduce profit shifting (mainly via transfer pricing) including a Union anti-BEPS legislative proposal. These measures should include a temporary cross-border loss offset regime only if the Commission can guarantee that it will be transparent and will not create the possibility of misuse for aggressive tax planning. The Commission should consider to what extent it would be necessary to harmonise accounting principles in order to prepare the underlying accounting data to be used for CCCTB purposes.deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 2 – subtitle 1 – paragraph 1

As a first step, by June 2016, a mandatory Common Corporate Tax Base (CCTB) in the Union, with an exemption for small- and medium-sized enterprises and companies with no cross-border activity, in order to have only one set of rules for companies operating in several Member States to calculate theirin order to have only one set of rules for calculating companies’ taxable profits.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 2 – subtitle 1 – paragraph 2

As a second step, as soon as possible and certainly no later than the end of 2017, a mandatory CCCTB~~, taking into due consideration the range of different options (factoring in the costs, for example, of incorporating small and medium enterprises and companies with no cross-border activity)~~;

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 2 – subtitle 1 – Paragraph 3

During the interim period between the introduction of mandatory CCTB and that of full CCCTB, a set of measures to reduce profit shifting (mainly via transfer pricing) including a Union anti-BEPS legislative proposal. These measures should include a temporary cross-border loss offset regime only if the Commission can guarantee that it will be transparent and will not create the possibility of misuse for aggressive tax planning.deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 2 – subtitle 2

Recommendation B2. Strengthen the mandate and improve transparency of the Council’s Code of Conduct on Business Taxation Group The European Parliament calls on the Commission to bring forward a proposal to incorporate the Code of Conduct Group into the Community method, as a CounciThe European Parliament calls on the Commission to bring forward a proposal for further developing the Directorate- General Wforking group, with the participation of the European Commission and the European Parliament as an observer. • The Code of Conduct group (CoC Group) shall become more transparent and more accountable, including through: ° Regular provision, update and publication of its oversight of the extent to which Member States meet the recommendations set out by the Group in its six-monthly progress report to finance ministers; ° Regular provision, update and publication of a list every two years of harmful tax practices; ° Regular provision and publication of its minutes; ° Regular participation of Finance Ministers or senior officials, to raise the profile of the body. • The tasks of the CoC Group shall include: ° Identifying harmful tax practices in the Union; ° Proposing measures and timelines for the elimination of harmful tax practices, and monitoring the results of the recommendations/measures proposed; ° Review Competition to turn it into an autonomous Competition Agency independent of the Commission. The remit of the Competition Agency should include what are currently the tasks of the Directorate-General for Competition. The new Agency should also be tasked with proceeding against distortions of competition ing the reports on spillover effects of new tax measures provided by Member States as stipulated above, and assessing whether action is required; ° Proposing other initiatives focused on tax measures in the external policy of the Union; ° Improving enforcement mechanisms against those practices which facilitate aggressive tax planningsingle market caused by Member States’ granting companies selective tax advantages.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 3 – subtitle 1

Recommendation C1. A new approach to international tax arrangements The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to bring forward a legislative proposal to allow the Union to speak with one voice in relation to international tax arrangements. • The Commission should negotiate tax agreements with third countries on behalf of the EU instead of the current practice under which bilateral negotiations are conducted, which produce sub-optimal results. • A common Union multilateral double tax agreement should be introduced to replace the multitude of bilateral tax agreements agreed between Member States themselves and with other countries. • All new international trade agreements concluded by the Union should include a clause on good tax governance.deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 3 – subtitle 3 – indent 3 - point 7 a (new)

The Commission shall check whether existing trade agreements with countries identified as tax havens can be suspended or terminated.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 3 – subtitle 5 – indent 1 - point 3 a (new)

To ensure that all Member States potentially affected by a transfer pricing approval decision in any given Member State are informed of that decision by the Member State in question.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 3 – subtitle 7 – introductory part

The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to bring forward ~~a proposal in the medium term~~without delay a proposal for:

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 3 – subtitle 7 – indent 2

Tax policies that are not consistent with state aid policy should be ~~spec~~publicly identified by the Commission in order to give companies and Member States guidance and improved legal certainty.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 3 – subtitle 8 – indent 4

In relation to the Directive 2005/19/EC, in addition to the introduction of a GAAR, also introduce additional transparency obligations and - if these changes prove insufficient to prevent aggressive tax planning - introduce a minimum tax provision as the requirement for the use of ‘tax advantages’ (such as, no taxation of dividends) or other measures of similar impact.deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Bernd LUCKE

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 4 – subtitle 1

Recommendation D1. Additional measures to address the tax gap The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to also focus on other factors beyond aggressive tax planning and BEPS activity which contribute to the existing tax gap, including: • Investigating sources of low efficiency regarding tax collection, including VAT collection; • Investigating sources of tax unfairness or weak credibility of tax administrations in the areas other than corporate taxation; • Setting principles for tax amnesties, in order to eliminate the negative consequences of these policies on future tax collection; • Proposing a minimum level of transparency for ‘tax forgiveness’ schemes run by national governments; • Ensuring that tax authorities have full and meaningful access to central registers of beneficial ownership for both companies and trusts, and that those registers are properly maintained and verified.deleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Activities of Bernd LUCKE related to 2015/2010(INL)

Plenary speeches (1)

Shadow reports (1)

Amendments (24)

ParlTrack - 2011-2024