Activities of Werner LANGEN related to 2018/2121(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Report on financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance (debate) DE
Amendments (42)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 6
Citation 6
— having regard to its recommendation of 13 December 2017 to the Council and the Commission following the ithe results of the Committee of Inquiry into mMoney lLaundering, tTax aAvoidance and tTax eEvasion, which were submitted to the Council and Commission on 13 December 20175, _________________ 5 Recommendation of 13 December 2017 to the Council and the Commission following the inquiry into money laundering, tax avoidance and tax evasion OJ C 369, 11.10.2018, p. 132.
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Highlights that close to 40 % of MNEs’ profits are shifted to tax havens globally each year25 without states having developed an effective strategy; _________________ 25 Tørsløv, Wier and Zucman ‘The missing profits of nations’, National Bureau of Economic Research, Working Paper 24701, 2018.
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls that the fight against tax evasion and fraud tacklesare illegal acts, whereas the fight against tax avoidance addresses situations that are a priori within the limits of the law, but against its spiritin which loopholes in the law are exploited;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Stresses the similarity between corporate tax payers and high-net-worth individuals in the use of corporate structures and similar structures such as trusts and offshore locations for the purpose of ATP; recallspoints to the role of intermediaries in setting up such ATP schemes;
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Reiterates its call on companies, as taxpayers, to fully comply with their tax obligations and refrain fromstates to prevent aggressive tax planning leading to BEPS, and to consider fair taxation strategy as an important part of their corporate socialstate responsibility;
Amendment 160 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
Amendment 180 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Notes that an exit tax was adopted by the EU in ATAD I, allowing Member States to tax the economic value of capital gain created in its territory even when that gain has not yet been realised at the time of exit; cConsiders that the principle of taxing profits made in Member States before they leave the Union should be strengthened, for example through coordinated withholding taxes on interests and royalties; calls on the Council to resume negotiations on the interest and royalties proposal28; _________________ 28 Proposal for a Council directive of 11 November 2011 on a common system of taxation applicable to interest and royalty payments made between associated companies of different Member States, COM(2011)0714 - 2011/0314(CNS).
Amendment 199 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Notes that the G20/OECD 15-point BEPS action plan is being too slowly implemented and monitored and further discussions are taking place, in a broader context than just the initial participating countries, through the Inclusive Framework; calls on Member States to support a reform of both the mandate and the functioning of the Inclusive Framework to ensure that remaining tax loopholes and unsolved tax questions such as the allocation of taxing rights among countries are coveredaddressed more quickly by the current international framework to combat BEPS practices;
Amendment 260 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31
Paragraph 31
31. Calls on the CoC Group report yearly to the Council and Parliament on the main arrangements reported in Member States to allow decision makers to keep up with the new tax schemes which are being elaborated and to take the countermeasures that might potentially be needed;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Calls on the Commission to issue - before the end of its term of office - a proposal aimed at repealing patent boxes, and calls on Member States to favour non- harmful and, if appropriate, direct support for R&D; reiterates, in the meantime, its call to ensure that current patent boxes establish a genuine link to economic activity, such as expenditure tests, and that they do not distort competition; welcomes the improved definition of R&D costs in the common corporate tax base (CCTB) proposal;
Amendment 304 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Notes that the phenomenon ofadvancing digitalisation has created a new situation in the marketcompetition situation, whereby digital and digitalised companies are able to take advantage of local markets without having a physical, and therefore taxable, presence in that market, creating a non-level playing field and putting traditional companies at a disadvantage; notes that digital businesses models in the EU face a lower effective average tax burden than traditional business models31; _________________ 31 As evidenced in the impact assessment of 21 March 2018 accompanying the digital tax package (SWD(2018)0081), according to which on average, digitalised businesses face an effective tax rate of only 9.5 %, compared to 23.2 % for traditional business models.
Amendment 364 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Reminds Member States of their obligation under the Treaty32 to cooperate loyally, sincerely and expeditiously; calls, therefore, in the light of cross-border cases, most notably the so-called Cum-Ex files, for the nomination of Single Points of Contact (SPoC) by all Member States’ national tax authorities, in line with the SPoC-system of the Joint International Taskforce on Shared Intelligence and Collaboration (JITSIC) in the framework of the OECD33, to facilitate and enhance cooperation in combating tax fraud, tax evasion and aggressive tax planning; calls further on the Commission to facilitate and coordinate cooperation between Member States’ SPoCs; _________________ 32 Article 4(3) TEU. Article 4(3) TEU. 33 http://www.oecd.org/tax/forum-on-tax- administration/jitsic/
Amendment 368 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 a (new)
Paragraph 44 a (new)
44a. Calls on Member States and tax supervisory authorities to investigate whether it is necessary to ban financial instruments whose sole profit-making purpose is to bring about tax rebates, such as, for instance, dividend arbitrage and dividend stripping, and where the issuer cannot prove that the financial instruments concerned have another, substantive economic purpose;
Amendment 377 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 44 b (new)
Paragraph 44 b (new)
44b. Notes that CumEx transactions are a global problem and have been known about since the 1990s in Europe, too, but no coordinated counteraction has been taken;
Amendment 403 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 45
Paragraph 45
45. Stresses that the proposal for public CBCR was submitted to the co-legislators just after the Panama papers scandal on 12 April 2016, and that Parliament adopted its position on it on 4 July 2017; recalls that the latter called for an enlargement of the scope of reporting and protection of commercially sensitive information; deplores the complete lack of progress and cooperation from the Council since 2016; urges for progress to be made in the Council sto that it enters into negotiations with Parliament;
Amendment 414 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 47
Paragraph 47
47. Calls on the Commission and, in particular, the competition authority to assess possible measures to discourage Member States from granting such State aid in the form of a tax advantage;
Amendment 417 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 48
Paragraph 48
48. Welcomes the fact that since 2014, the Commission has been investigating the tax ruling practices of Member States, following up on allegations of the favourable tax treatment of certain companies, and has launched nine formal investigations since 2014, six of which concluded that the tax ruling constituted illegal State aid35, and one of which; is appalled that one investigation was closed concluding that the double non- taxation of certain profits did not constitute State aid36, while the other two are ongoing37; _________________ 35 Decision of 20 June 2018 on State aid implemented by Luxembourg in favour of ENGIE (SA.44888); decision of 4 October 2017 on State aid granted by Luxembourg to Amazon (SA.38944); decision of 30 August 2016 on State aid implemented by Ireland to Apple (SA.38373); decision of 11 January 2016 on ‘Excess Profit exemption in Belgium – Art. 185§2 b) CIR92’ (SA.37667); decision of 21 October 2015 on State aid implemented by the Netherlands to Starbucks (SA.38374); and decision of 21 October 2015 on State aid which Luxembourg granted to Fiat (SA.38375). There are pending proceedings before the Court of Justice of the European Union and the General Court related to all six decisions. 36 Decision of 19 September 2018 on ‘Alleged aid to Mc Donald’s – Luxembourg’ (SA.38945). 37 ‘Possible State aid in favour of Inter IKEA investigation’ opened on 18 December 2017 (SA.46470) and ‘UK tax scheme for multinationals (Controlled Foreign Company rules)’ opened on 26 October 2018 (SA.44896).
Amendment 422 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 49
Paragraph 49
49. Notes that despite the fact that the Commission found McDonald’s benefited from double non-taxation on certain of its profits in the EU, no decision under EU State Aid rules could be issuedCalls for effective measures against double non-taxation, as the Commission concluded that the double non-taxation stemmed from a mismatch between Luxembourg and US tax laws and the Luxembourg-United States double taxation treaty38; ; _________________ 38 http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP- 18-5831_en.htm
Amendment 451 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 53
Paragraph 53
53. Points out national measures to specifically ban commercial relationships with letterbox companies; highlightstakes exception to, in particular, the Latvian legislation which defines a letterbox company as an entity having no actual economic activity and holding no documentary proof to the contrary, as being registered in a jurisdiction where companies are not required to submit financial statements, and/or as having no place of business in its country of residence;
Amendment 460 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 54
Paragraph 54
54. Highlights that the high level of inward and outward foreign direct investment as a percentage of GDP in seven Member States (Belgium, Cyprus, Hungary, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, and the Netherlands) can only be partiallyto a limited extent be explained by real economic activities taking place in these Member States;40; _________________ 40 Kiendl Kristo I. and Thirion E., An Kiendl Kristo I. and Thirion E.: An overview of shell companies in the European Union, EPRS, European Parliament, October 2018, p. 23.
Amendment 469 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 55
Paragraph 55
55. Underlines that a high share of foreign direct investment held by special purpose entities and exploiting existing tax loopholes exists in several Member States, particularly in Malta, Luxembourg and the Netherlands;41 _________________ 41 Kiendl Kristo I. and Thirion E.,: op. cit., p. 23.
Amendment 492 #
59a. Calls for the identities of actual owners to be disclosed to tax authorities;
Amendment 509 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 62
Paragraph 62
62. Calls for additionalreliable statistics to estimate the VAT gap; stresses that there is no common approach to data collection and sharing within the EU;
Amendment 533 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 70 a (new)
Paragraph 70 a (new)
70a. Calls for the introduction of the reverse charge system as an optional and, at the same time, optimum system of rules for EU Member States;
Amendment 577 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 80 a (new)
Paragraph 80 a (new)
80a. Regrets the hesitant approach of some Member States to the reverse charge system;
Amendment 586 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 82
Paragraph 82
Amendment 617 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 85
Paragraph 85
85. Observes that a majority of11 EU Member States have adopted citizenship by investment (CBI) or residency by investment (RBI) schemes57, generally known as visa or investor programmes, by which citizenship or residence is granted to non-EU citizens in exchange for financial investment; observes that these programmes do not necessarily require applicants to spend time on the territory in which the investment is made; _________________ 57 18 Member States have some form of RBI scheme in place, including four Member States that operate CBI schemes in addition to RBI schemes: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Malta, Romania. 10 Member States have no such schemes: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden. Source: study entitled ‘Citizenship by investment (CBI) and residency by investment (RBI) schemes in the EU‘, EPRS, October 2018, PE: 627.128; ISBN: 978-92-846-3375-3.
Amendment 622 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 86
Paragraph 86
86. Observes that at least 5 000tens of thousands of non- EU citizens have obtained EU citizenship through citizenship by investment schemes58 ; _________________ 58 See the above-mentioned study. See the above-mentioned study.
Amendment 638 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 88
Paragraph 88
88. NotesTakes exception to the fact that these programmes regularly involve tax privileges or special tax regimes for the beneficiaries; is concerned that these privileges could hamperaim to thwart the objective of making all citizens contribute fairly to the tax system;
Amendment 641 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 89
Paragraph 89
89. Worries that there is very littleno transparency in relation to the number and origin of applicants, the numbers of individuals granted citizenship or residency by these schemes and the amount invested through these schemes; appreciates the fact that some Member States make explicit the name and nationalities of the individuals who are granted citizenship or residency under these schemes;
Amendment 680 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 93
Paragraph 93
93. Urges the Commission to finalise its study on CBI and RBI schemes in the Union; urges the Commission to examine whether, and, if so, which of these schemes posed a threat to fair EU legislation;
Amendment 692 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 96
Paragraph 96
96. Recalls that free ports are warehouses in free zones, which were – originally – intended as spaces to store merchandise in transit; deplores the fact that they have since become popular for the storage of substitute assets, including art, precious stones, antiques, gold and wine collections – often on a permanent basis;60 and financed from unknown sources; _________________ 60 EPRS study entitled ‘Money Laundering and tax evasion risks in free ports‘, October 2018, PE: 627.114; ISBN: 978-92- 846-3333-3.
Amendment 771 #
114. Notes that in the case of Danske Bank, transactions worth upwards of EUR 2050 billion flowed in and out of its Estonian branch71 without the bank having put in place adequate internal AML and KYC procedures, as subsequently admitted by the bank itself and confirmed by both the Estonian and Danish Financial Supervisory Authorities; considers that this failure shows a complete lack of responsibility on the part of both the bank and the competent national authorities; calls on the competent authorities to carry out urgent evaluations of the adequacy of AML and KYC procedures in all European banks to ensure proper enforcement of the Union’s AML legislation; _________________ 71 Iibid.
Amendment 971 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 151 a (new)
Paragraph 151 a (new)
151a. Regrets the fact that the blacklist contains only five countries and is therefore of no use in combating money laundering, financial crime, tax evasion and tax avoidance;
Amendment 974 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 151 b (new)
Paragraph 151 b (new)
151b. Calls therefore for a deletion from the published list to be made not simply whenever a commitment to reform has been undertaken but only when the changes can actually be verified;
Amendment 976 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 151 c (new)
Paragraph 151 c (new)
151c. Regrets the fact that these lists are compiled only for non-EU countries and objects to the lack of a similar instrument for abuse in Member States;
Amendment 1093 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 170 a (new)
Paragraph 170 a (new)
170a. Is particularly concerned at the announcement by the British Prime Minister Theresa May that 'the lowest level of corporation tax in the G20' would be introduced in Great Britain;
Amendment 1225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 195
Paragraph 195
195. Welcomes the fact thatHas long considered it overdue for the Chair of the CoC Group to appeared before the TAX3 Committee, in a reversal of the CoC Group’s previous position; also notes that since the start of the work of the TAX3 Committee, compilations of the CoC Group’s work have been made available87 ; regrets, however, that those documents were not published sooner; regrets, however, that those documents were not published sooner and that important parts of them have been redacted; _________________ 87 In particular as recalled in the CoC Group report to the Council of June 2018: the Procedural Guidelines for carrying out the process of monitoring commitments concerning the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (doc. 6213/18); a compilation of all the agreed guidance since the creation of the Group in 1998 (doc. 5814/18 REV1); a compilation of all the letters signed by the COCG Chair seeking commitments by jurisdictions (doc. 6671/18); a compilation of the commitment letters received in return, when consent was given by the jurisdiction concerned (doc. 6972/18 and addenda); and an overview of the individual measures assessed by the Group since 1998 (doc. 9639/18).
Amendment 1234 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 200
Paragraph 200
200. Welcomes the participation and input of stakeholders as referred to in Annex XX on TAX3 committee hearings and notes those individuals who declined to participate in such hearings in accordance with Annex XX;
Amendment 1236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 201
Paragraph 201
Amendment 1278 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 207
Paragraph 207
Amendment 1284 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 208
Paragraph 208
208. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the European Council, the Council of Finance Ministers, the Commission, the Member States, the national parliaments, the UN, the G20 and the OECD.