[ParlTrack]

Motion for a resolution
Recital T – point i a (new)

(ia) whereas tougher country-specific tax information reporting requirements at both European and international level must be accompanied by an effective and binding dispute settlement procedure;

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Recital T – point ii

(ii) whereas ~~some companies within the Union have already begun to demonstrate that they are fully tax compliant by applying for and promoting their ownership of~~voluntary measures such as a 'Fair Tax Ppayer' label~~3 ; whereas firms and citizens alike across the Union would benefit from wider take- up of such labels by comp~~ can be no substitute for chaniges ~~who are fully tax compliant in order to set a high standard for others to emulate; __________________ 3Such as the Fair Tax Mark: http://www.fairtaxmark.net/.~~that are needed to the legal framework;

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Recital T – point iv

(iv) whereas there is evidence that Member States do not communicate sufficiently between themselves about the possible impact that their tax arrangements with certain companies might have on tax collection in other Member States; whereas national tax authorities should automatically exchange all tax rulings without delay after they have been issued; whereas t~~ax rulings signed up to by tax authorities should be subject to greater transparency, providing that confidential information and business sensitive information is preserved~~he proposal submitted to that end, amending Directive 2011/16/EU as regards mandatory automatic exchange of information in the field of taxation (2015/0068(CNS)), is currently being discussed by the Union legislative authority;

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Recital T – point vii

~~(vii) whereas the current Union-wi~~de legal framework to protect whistleblowers is insufficient, and there exists significant variation between the ways in which different Member States provide protection for whistleblowers; whereas in the absence of such protection, those employees who hold vital information will understandably be reluctant to come forward and therefore that information will not be made available; whereas since whistleblowers helped to mobilise public attention on the issue of unfair taxation, Member States should consider measures that will protect such activity; whereas it would therefore be appropriate to offer Union-wide protection for whistleblowers who report suspected misconduct, wrongdoing, fraud or illegal activity to national regulators or, in cases of persistently unaddressed illegal activity that could affect the public interest, to the public as a whole; whereas such protection should be coherent with the overall legal system;ted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Recital U – point iii

(iii) whereas the overall principle of corporate taxation in the Union should be that taxes are paid in the countries where a company's actual economic activity and value creation takes place; whereas ~~criteria should be developed to ensure that this occurs; whereas any use of 'patent box' or o~~the costs of research and development in Member States can already be claimed against tax and, ther prefeore~~ntial tax regimes must also ensure that taxes are paid in the place where value is generated~~, additional favourable treatment in the form of 'patent boxes' is a tax avoidance incentive that runs counter to established practices;

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Recital V – point viii a (new)

(viiia) whereas a standard regime for withholding taxes on royalties would make tax relations with non-EU countries more coherent; whereas such a regime should ensure that royalty payments to recipients in non-EU countries not covered by bilateral tax agreements are actually taxed;

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Recital X a (new)

Xa. whereas, in particular, greater efforts to comply with the existing VAT directive, greater cooperation between Member States on combating VAT fraud, and a technology-neutral approach to VAT rules could make a major contribution towards more tax justice;

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – subtitle 1 – indent 2 - point 2 a (new)

Tougher country-specific tax information reporting requirements at both European and international level must be accompanied by an effective and binding dispute-settlement procedure.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

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

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

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

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 1 – subtitle 7

Recommendation A7. Protection of whistleblowers The European Parliament calls on to the European Commission to bring forward a legislative proposal • Protect whistleblowers who act in the public interest only (and not also for money or any other personal agenda) in order to expose misconduct, wrongdoing, fraud or illegal activity in relation to corporate taxation in any Member State in the European Union. Such whistleblowers should be protected if they report suspected misconduct, wrongdoing, fraud or illegal activity to their relevant competent authority, and should also be protected if, in cases of persistently unaddressed illegal activity in relation to corporate taxation that could affect the public interest, they report their concerns to the public as a whole; • Ensure that the right to freedom of expression and information in relation to corporate taxation is preserved in the European Union; • Such protection should be coherent with the overall legal system; • 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; • Such a legislative proposal could also take into consideration the Council of Europe’s ‘Recommendation CM/Rec(2014)71 on the protection of whistleblowers’. _______________ 1.http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsettin g/cdcj/Whistleblowers/protecting_whistleb lowers_en.aspdeleted

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

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

Recommendation B3. P~~atent box and other preferential regimes: Linking preferential regimes to where value is generated~~rohibition of patent box regimes

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 2 – subtitle 3 – introductory part

The European Parliament calls on the European Commission ~~to continue providing guidance to Member States on how to implement patent box regimes, in line with the ‘modified nexus approach’ so as to ensure that they are not harmful~~and the Member States to work towards prohibiting patent box regimes because the costs of research and development in Member States can already be claimed against tax and, therefore, additional favourable treatment in the form of patent boxes is a tax avoidance incentive that runs counter to established practices.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 4 – subtitle 1 a (new)

Recommendation D1a. Measures for fair tax competition in relation to VAT The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to: • do more to ensure compliance with the existing VAT Directive in order to prevent unfair tax competition in relation to VAT, • to step up cooperation with the Member States so that VAT fraud can be tackled jointly, • to examine whether the reverse charge mechanism can be extended to cover inter-company goods trading in the same way that it already applies to trading in digital products and services.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 4 – subtitle 1 b (new)

Recommendation D1b. Additional provision in the VAT Directive The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to bring forward a proposal to amend the VAT Directive, Directive 2006/112/EU, in order to: • ensure that the physical and digital versions of a given product are treated equally and that VAT rules are thus applied in a technology-neutral way.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Markus FERBER, Werner LANGEN

Motion for a resolution
Annex – title 4 – subtitle 1 c (new)

Recommendation D1c. Standard regime for withholding taxes on royalties The European Parliament calls on the European Commission to bring forward a proposal for a standard regime for withholding taxes on royalties so as to ensure that royalty payments to recipients in non-EU countries not covered by bilateral tax agreements are actually taxed.

2015/10/13
Committee: ECON

Activities of Werner LANGEN related to 2015/2010(INL)

Plenary speeches (1)

Amendments (16)

ParlTrack - 2011-2024