45 Amendments of Martin SCHIRDEWAN related to 2022/2146(INI)
Amendment 19 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 29 a (new)
Citation 29 a (new)
Amendment 24 #
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; whereas Member States should be entitled to implement countermeasures that would defend their tax base, such as: a) non-deductibility of costs; b) withholding tax measures; c) limitation of participation exemption; d) special documentation requirements, especially regarding transfer pricing ;
Amendment 25 #
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 and free circulation of capital 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 27 #
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; whereas their tax policies should not deprive other member states tax resources;
Amendment 37 #
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 situations when some MNEs are making windfall profits;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
Ba. whereas windfall profits are not restricted to the energy sector; whereas some multinational companies such as CMA-CGM (maritime transport), the Louis Dreyfus Company (agricultural goods), BNP-Paribas (banking), Apple (technology) and LVMH (luxury goods) made record profits during the crisis; whereas the profits of listed companies are reaching a historic peak and are mostly redistributed as dividends to their shareholders; whereas the dividends of large European companies increased by 28.7 % in the second quarter of 2022, when the crisis was surging;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
Bb. 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 history1b; _________________ 1b 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 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
Bd. whereas many environmentally harmful activities, such as the burning of kerosene to power aircraft, bunker fuels burned in ships, air pollution from factories, harmful substances leaking into the air, water and soil from agricultural practices, deforestation, and the depletion of freshwater sources, remain tax free;
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the BEPS action plan managed to establish a globaln OECD consensus on many issues regarding the fight against aggressive tax planning;
Amendment 55 #
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 the EU transposition only stick to the international agreements instead of being more ambitious and leading by example;
Amendment 68 #
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); whereas these obstacles discourage cross-border economic activity and can distort the single market and allows a special treatment for MNEs, encouraging an unfair competition with SMEs;
Amendment 83 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the debt-equity bias in corporate taxation allows fora significant number of generous tax deductions on interest payments; whereas equity financing costs cannot be deducted in a similar manner, in particular intra-groups, facilitate harmful tax practices; whereas the debt-equity bias shall be resolved by limiting such types of reductions, instead of creating new deductions to equity financing costs;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas many tax incentives are exploited by MNEs to pay less than their fair share; whereas this consequently makes MNEs pay less tax than SMEs and deprives the resources of the member states;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G b (new)
Recital G b (new)
Gb. whereas corporate income tax represents a higher share of tax revenues and gross domestic product in developing countries than in rich countries; whereas losses in developing countries due to global corporate taxation avoidance are estimated to range from 6 to 13 % of total tax revenue, compared with 2 to 3 % in member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)1e; _________________ 1e United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report entitled ‘Tackling Illicit Financial Flows for Sustainable Development in Africa’, 2020, p. 21: https://unctad.org/system/files/official- document/aldcafrica2020_en.pdf
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G c (new)
Recital G c (new)
Gc. whereas the share of tax revenues coming from corporate tax has decreased throughout the last decades when on the opposite the share of tax revenues coming from tax impacting mostly modest households like consumption tax has increased;
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G d (new)
Recital G d (new)
Gd. whereas the European Central Bank acknowledges current inflationary pressure is driven by some companies raising prices in excess of their costs at the expense of consumers and wage earners1f; _________________ 1f https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/key/date/ 2023/html/ecb.sp230605~0aadd43ce7.en. html
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G e (new)
Recital G e (new)
Ge. Whereas according to the Corporate Tax Haven Index 2021, nine EU Member States feature among the 25 most harmful corporate tax havens, namely Netherlands, Luxembourg, Ireland, Cyprus, Belgium, France, Spain, Germany and Hungary1g; _________________ 1g Tax Justice Network, Corporate Tax Haven Index 2021, available from https://cthi.taxjustice.net/en/
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G f (new)
Recital G f (new)
Gf. Deplores the use of harmful tax practices by the Member States, which are a root cause of tax evasion and avoidance; supports an extension of the EU tax haven blacklist to cover EU tax havens, such as Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands and Cyprus;
Amendment 105 #
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 tool to avoid harmful tax complete, improve and further develop the single marketition leading to a race to the bottom and lower public resources;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
Amendment 118 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that it is paramount to fight aggressive profit shifting while promoting fiscal fairness, transparency and certainty, and while keeping taxes at levels that support sustainable economic growth;
Amendment 129 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Takes note of 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 ; However, also underlines significant directives that were blocked in the Council, such as Financial Transaction Tax, the recast of the Interest and Royalties Directive, or the CCTB and CCCTB proposals; Deplores that corporate tax avoidance continues to have a severe impact on Member States and third countries21a; _________________ 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. 21a Estimates by Tax Justice Network suggest approximately US$312 billion is lost to cross-border corporate tax abuse by multinational corporations (‘State of Tax Justice 2021’, p6). In the European Union (EU), the annual loss to profit shifting by multinational corporations is conservatively estimated to be €50-70 billion per year (European Parliament Research Service (2015), ‘Bringing transparency, coordination and convergence to corporate tax policies in the European Union. I – Assessment of the magnitude of aggressive corporate tax planning). Losses are even more severe in the Global South, where the problem of corporate tax avoidance is exacerbated by the unfair and antiquated international tax rules and financial architecture (‘State of Tax Justice 2021’, p31).
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Deplores the fact that the Member States have implemented and applied tax dirCalls Member States to pursue additional national measures to increase the ambition and effectiveness in a divergent manner, undermining the proper functioning of the single market and leading to misalignment iddressing corporate tax avoidance and harmful tax practices and notes that national initiatives are often taxhe bases, more red tape and higher compliance costsis for increased political will for EU action;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Welcomes the solidarity contribution implemented by the European Commission; notes with concern that some of the largest energy companies in the EU may not be subject to the contribution and that non energy companies will not be subject to the contribution even though they make windfall profits; Underlines that windfall profits are not limited to the energy sector and specifically to the fossil fuel industries; recalls that both the International Monetary Fund and the chief economist of the ECB support a windfall tax covering all sectors; calls, therefore, on the Commission to redesign its proposal for a solidarity contribution to cover all sectors with windfall profits; recalls that this windfall tax should not be limited to 2022 profits, but should be designed as a permanent tax, which could be reactivated in future crises in the event that such windfall profits are made again by the large multinational enterprises; recalls that the International Monetary Fund is calling for a permanent windfall tax;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Calls on the Commission and EU Member States to introduce progressive excessive ecological footprint taxes designed to operationalise the polluter pays principle, including progressive taxation on material and land-use footprints, to make corporate users of natural resources pay for their use as well as for any associated negative consequences (such as health and climate impacts) that would otherwise be passed on to individuals or society at large;
Amendment 156 #
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 delaying those tax acts that would unnecessarily increase costs for businesses already under strain; calls 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 2023; ; calls 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 2023; 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 157 #
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 delaying those tax acts that would unnecessarily increase costs for businesses already under strain; calls 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 2023;
Amendment 165 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
Amendment 171 #
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 for experimentation with tax credits; insists, nevertheless, that all decisions should be taken in a coordinated manner to preserve the functioning of the single market and that tax credits and tax incentives often create new ways for MNEs to reduce their taxes, which at the end makes them pay less tax than SMEs; Calls for an impact assessment of all the tax credits and tax incentives in order to abolish all of them which have negative social and ecological consequences;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
Amendment 186 #
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 SMEsSMEs and people in financial difficulty;
Amendment 187 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11a. Recalls that secrecy around corporate taxation plays an enabling role in corporate tax avoidance; Notes that the national transposition of EU Directive 2021/2101 is ongoing, but only introducing a limited form of public country by country reporting; Regrets that the scope of that EU directive will not require large multinational corporations to publish information on a country by country basis for the vast majority of countries worldwide undermining the effectiveness and value of the measure;
Amendment 190 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11b. Condemns the fact that the Commission has proactively approached Member States with an information letter on gold plating without informing the European Parliament; Reminds that the Directive sets a minimum standard that Member States are free to improve and that the Commission has no political mandate to influence the Member States on that issue;
Amendment 197 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Takes note of 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; Regrets, however, that the final agreement was significantly watered down, leaving a large space for improvement; notes that the agreement was criticised by the Tax Justice Network1a and the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation1b, which pointed out that developing countries in particular will not really benefit from it; regrets that the global minimum rate will only be 15 % and that according to the EU Tax Observatory tax deficit simulator, the gain for the EU would have been EUR 168 billion with a 25 % rate; regrets that the ‘carve-out’ included in the deal would ‘allow companies to escape taxation as long as they have sufficient operations (assets and employees) in tax havens’ and thus ‘reduce tax revenues by 15 % to 30 % in the EU relative to a minimum tax without carve-out’, according to a note from the EU Tax Observatory1c; Calls Member States to implement the minimum effective tax rate directive with more ambitious standards, like a higher effective tax rate of 25%; _________________ 1a Tax Justice Network, ‘OECD tax deal fails to deliver’, 8 October 2021. 1b Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation, ‘ICRIT open letter to G20 leaders: “A global tax deal for the rich”’, 12 October 2021. 1cEU Tax Observatory, ‘Minimizing the Minimum Tax? The Critical Effect of Substance Carve-Outs’.
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12a. Notes that the Member States should not wait to strike an ambitious agreement with tax havens to move forward; calls on the Member States, therefore, to introduce and collect the tax deficit of multinationals: the difference between what a corporation pays in taxes globally and what it would have to pay if all of its profits were subject to a minimum tax rate in each of the countries in which it operates; underlines that such a solution could encourage other states to follow this move and progressively lead to an ambitious global solution;
Amendment 205 #
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 on the Commission to give companies breathing space and enough time to prepare for the possible new BEFITNotes that BEFIT rules could help to lower the compliance costs of SMEs by uniformizing the rules;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13a. Reiterates that the Commission should submit a legislative proposal for a digital levy or a similar measure in the event of a lack of progress on the implementation of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development/G20 Inclusive Framework Pillar 1 Agreement until the end of 2023;
Amendment 215 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 b (new)
Paragraph 13 b (new)
13b. Stresses the need for further strengthening of global tax cooperation on corporate tax matters; calls for the EU to support the setting up of a UN framework convention on tax, which includes further measures to combat corporate tax avoidance and related illicit financial flows;
Amendment 220 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 3
Subheading 3
Towards a simplified corporate tax regime that addresses tax avoidance and tax competition
Amendment 229 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Calls on the Commission to guide all the Member States towards a simplified tax system to reduce the administrative burden for companies, especially SMEs; acknowledges that simplifying refund procedures, deductions and litigation are other solutions to reduce the administrative burden, especially for SMEs; notes that abrogating most of the tax credits and other tax loopholes will simplify the rules and makes the competition between SMEs and MNEs fairer;
Amendment 244 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. Welcomes the Commission’s plan to work on a BEFIT proposal, expected in the third quarter of 2023, with a view to designing a new and single EU corporate tax rulebook, based on a fair, comprehensive and effective formulary apportionment and a common tax base of income taxation for businesses, which will provide clarity and predictability for companies; Notes that this proposal should provide more tax revenues for Member States, by targeting MNEs which currently use the differences in the EU tax systems to artificially pay less tax than they should; Calls on the Commission to use a formula that includes criteria on employees, as well as sales and assets, in order to recognise where value is created;
Amendment 254 #
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 climate; Notes with concern that the Commission in this call for evidence does not state an aim of addressing tax competition and corporate tax avoidance; Calls on the Commission to ensure these aims have primacy within the forthcoming proposal; Calls on the Commission to exclude tax incentives, such as notional interest deductions or elements of the DEBRA proposal from BEFIT;
Amendment 275 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Takes note of the Commission proposal of 11 May 2022 addressing the debt-equity bias; deplorestakes note of the Council decision of 6 December 2022 to suspend the examination of the proposal; calls on the Council to relaunch negotiations on this proposal; stresses that limiting interest deductions, instead of creating equity allowances, would allow larger tax revenues for Member States;
Amendment 282 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Highlights that tax incentives applied in a fiscally responsible manner for private research and development (e.g. via tax credits, enhanced allowances or adjusted depreciation schedules) can help lift an economy’s overall spending towards research and development, which often comes with positive externalities; 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; several Member States use patent boxes and that evidence in the literature suggests that patent boxes do not necessarily stimulate R&D and are often used as a profit-shifting instrument1a; _________________ 1a https://op.europa.eu/en/publication- detail/-/publication/22508340-1149-11ed- 8fa0-01aa75ed71a1/language-en/format- PDF/source-262413960