37 Amendments of Damien CARÊME related to 2020/2259(INI)
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A a (new)
Recital A a (new)
A a. whereas the COVID-19 pandemic created an unprecedented health crisis with major impacts on our societies, economy and public coffers;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas recent developments in taxation and tax collection have shifted the tax incidence from wealth to income, from capital income to labour income and consumption, from MNEs to SMEs and from the financial sector to the real economy;
Amendment 46 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C b (new)
Recital C b (new)
C b. whereas women and low income group are very impacted by an unfair and biased tax system, as they typically rely more on labour income, spend a higher proportion of their income on consumption and have less shares in MNEs;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C c (new)
Recital C c (new)
C c. whereas higher rates of tax evasion exist among the wealthiest 1a _________________ 1a https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/site s/taxation/files/2019-taxation-papers- 76.pdf
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C d (new)
Recital C d (new)
C d. whereas EU member states rely disproportionately on certain taxes, particularly labour income taxes, social contributions and indirect taxes such as value added tax (VAT);
Amendment 49 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C e (new)
Recital C e (new)
C e. whereas since 2002 the share of environmental tax revenues in total government taxation revenue has slightly declined, as has its value as a share of GDP;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C f (new)
Recital C f (new)
C f. whereas ‘the polluter pays’ principles are not consistently applied, and the external costs of natural resource use and pollution are generally paid by society rather than the user/polluter;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C g (new)
Recital C g (new)
C g. whereas tax exemptions for the aviation and maritime sectors distort competition between transport sectors, and may promote inefficient and polluting modes of transport;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C h (new)
Recital C h (new)
C h. whereas in many EU Member States, taxes and levies on electricity are higher than for coal, gas or heating oil, both in absolute value and as a share of total price, hence hampering the achievement of the EU environment and climate policies;
Amendment 91 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. HighlightsObserves that as the transformation of production- consumption systems proceeds, in the context of rapid innovation,population ageing, changing work relations and shifting resource use patterns,the fiscal and social security systems will have to be reformed to remainviable and support transitions; highlights with concern that current tax systems, and the fiscal capacities of Member States, are already facing and will increasingly face severe shocks, such as the need for l: a. Large public investments needed to sustain the economic recovery and the green transition, the ageing of our societies and the consequent r, reach the sustainable development goals, reduce inequality and end poverty, b.Significant need for funding of mitigationand adaptation policies as a response to the climate crisis, c.Climate crisis and environmentaldegradation can affect tax revenue generated through income taxation due totheir impact on health, biodiversity, infrastructure, and economic activity, d. Ageing of our societies and the relative shrinking of the working-age population could generate substantial pressure on revenue from labour taxation and social contributions, while ageing is likely to create additional public spending needs (e.g. care for the elderly), e.Reduction in the working- age population, the d from 65% to 57% of the total EU population in the period 2018–2050 may reduce labour tax revenues, including social security contributions, as well as returns from value added tax, f. Digital transformation of labour labour markets, increasedmarkets can possibly reduce the labour income shareand increasing wage polarisation. A relative fall in labour income could lead to a decline in labour tax revenues, g. Continuing and accelerating tax competition andin the existing tax gap10 ; fields of corporate and personal income taxes, h. Existing tax gaps resulting from tax fraud, tax evasion, aggressive tax planning and money laundering and their impact on the tax morale of taxpayers1b ; _________________ 10bEuropean Commission, ‘Tax policies in the European Union’ survey, 2020, https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/busi iness/company-tax/tax-good- governance/european-semester/tax- policies-european-union-survey_en
Amendment 99 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Stresses that public finances will need to play a major role in enabling sustainability transitions through investments in innovation, infrastructure, human capital and ecosystems, yet these needs will compete with expanding demand for spending on areas such as pensions and health;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 b (new)
Paragraph 2 b (new)
2 b. Highlights that there is significant income and wealth inequality in the EU; notes that automatic stabilisers have played a key role in preventing a significant increase of such inequality during the COVID19 crisis, still however poorer household are the most severely hit;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that taxation and tax collection have shifted the tax incidence from wealth to income, from capital to labour income and consumption, from MNEs to SMEs, and from the financial sector to the real economy; observes with concern this shift in the tax burden from more mobile to less mobile taxpayers, resulting in a lower average tax burden for the very income-rich11 ; concludes that in absence of European coordination, globalisation limits the capacities of countries to design their tax policies, including redistribution; _________________ 11European Commission, ‘Tax policies in the European Union’ survey, 2020, https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/busi ness/company-tax/tax-good- governance/european-semester/tax- policies-european-union-survey_en
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3 a. Observes with concern that between 2005 and 2018 taxes on capital as a percentage of total taxes have decreased in the EU, while taxes on labour have increased and VAT reaching the highest value in more than a decade; notes with great concern the continuing race to the bottom in corporate income tax rates in the EU;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Points out that technological progress and economic integration are making the taxpayers and tax bases of all types of tax increasingly mobile12 ; notes that this could reinforce the tendency to rely on immobile tax bases; notes further that this could reinforce the tendency to rely on immobile tax bases to finance public budgets and lead to a possibly significant reallocation of mobile tax bases across jurisdictions; emphasises that such tendency lowers the tax morale and leads to severe unequal outcomes for ordinary citizens, in particular women, self-employed and SMEs; _________________ 12European Commission, ‘Tax policies in the European Union’ survey, 2020, https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/busi ness/company-tax/tax-good- governance/european-semester/tax- policies-european-union-survey_en
Amendment 113 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Observes that in spite of the numerous calls for shifting taxation from labour to pollution, revenues from taxes on pollution and resources in particular have remained very low, and yet they offer a potential source for increasing revenue through the application of the ‘polluter pays’ principle and are difficult to evade owing to the character of the tax base; notes that environmental taxes only raise 6% of total tax revenues1c; notes that energy tax revenues constitute the main component of environmental tax receipts for almost all countries (accounting for almost 78 % of EU-27environmental tax revenues), of which transport fuel taxes represent around 67% of receipts, followed by non-fuel transport taxes (19 %) and pollution/resources taxes (3 %) ; regrets that there is continuing government support for highly polluting industries; recalls that according to the OECD, carbon intensive industries have benefitted from around 50% of the coronavirus financial support packages1d _________________ 1chttps://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics- explained/index.php/Environmental_tax_ statistics 1d https://www.oecd.org/coronavirus/policy- responses/green-budgeting-and-tax- policy-tools-to-support-a-green-recovery- bd02ea23/
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Reminds that the EU minimum energy taxation regimes set in the Energy Taxation Directive 2003/96/EC are outdated and need to be aligned with the Green Deal objectives; notes that the Energy Taxation Directive as it currently stands does not factor in the “polluter pays principle” and is a hidden subsidy to fossil fuels by allowing general exemptions to energy uses in transport and heating;
Amendment 125 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5 b. Notes with particular concern that redistribution through personal income tax system is endangered through the digital transformation of labour markets, the increasing mobility of labour and rising level of non-standard employment; highlights that this would raise equity concerns, in particular in a context of increasing wage polarisation; notes that, according to the IMF, new technologies have been the main factor explaining the decline in labour’s share of national income; observes that this has increased inequality, as that income has instead gone to the owners of the capital and it has also affected public budgets by shrinking the income tax base, since the output of automata, robots, and AI based devices are taxed as corporate profits;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Paragraph 5 c (new)
Amendment 135 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Deplores that tax matters still fall under the unanimity rule; warns that unanimity is impeding important tax reforms without which significant internal market distortions remain; notes with concern that tax mixes in the EU are very divergent leading to distortions; believes that harmonization and minimum rates would lead to more effective, simple, and fair tax systems strengthening national sovereignties;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Amendment 140 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6 c. Highlights that green taxation internalising the “polluter pays principle” as part of economic and fiscal reforms can play a key role in national recovery and resilience plans and therefore calls on the European Commission to put the right emphasis on this in the national recovery and resilience plans and encourage Member States to move in that direction;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes with concern that the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is highly regressive, with the poorest households being the most severely hit14 ; regrets that large companies that realise excess profits, such as e-commerce businesses and wealthy individuals who realise significant capital gains through speculation, are often undertaxed; warns that if no action is taken to rebalance the tax mix the tax morale of ordinary citizen, self-employed and SMEs will be further damaged; _________________ 14OECD, ‘Tax and Fiscal Policy in Response to the Coronavirus Crisis: Strengthening Confidence and Resilience’, 19 May 2020,https://www.oecd.org/ctp/tax- policy/tax-and-fiscal-policy-in-response- to-the-coronavirus-crisis-strengthening- confidence-and-resilience.htm
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Emphasises that tax policies need to ensure that the costs and benefits of the green and digital transition are fairly distributed amongst regions, businesses and citizens; calls on member states to find ways to sustain existing tax bases as much as possible, while exploring new ones;
Amendment 163 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. HUnderlines that large institutions such as IMF, World Bank and OECD call for a comprehensive shift to taxing pollution; notes that taxation is seen as the single most effective way of pricing carbon; highlights that environmental taxes have the potential to cover the need for additional revenue while supporting a resilient, competitive, sustainable and carbon-free economy; calls on Member States to consider expanding the tax base for environmental taxes through inter alia n: a. Natural resource taxes, distance-based charges in the transport sector, fuel pr that directly increase the price of natural resources (minerals, aggregates, water), b. Distance-based charges in the transport sector can be set to reflect the pollution costs and congestion implications of different types of vehicles, and the taxation of deforestation, landfill, incineration, pesticides and fertilizers; supporting the transition to zero-emission mobility, c. Fuel prices should in principle reflect supply costs and environmental costs - not just their contribution to global warming, but also local air pollution and, in the case of road fuels, traffic congestion, accidents, and road damage, d. Tax deforestation and incentivize afforestation, and biodiversity respecting forest management, e.Taxation to reduce the use of fertilisers and pesticides; f.Price of different foods reflects their real costs in terms of use of finite natural resources, pollution, GHG emissions and other environmental externalities, g. Adequately tax landfill and incineration practices;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Calls on Member States to revise tax expenditure in all tax areas; calls on Member States to perform annual, detailed and public cost-benefit analyses of each tax provision; notes that tax incentives should aim at attracting investments in the ‘real’ economy, profit-based tax incentives, such as patent boxes, should be avoided as these often lead to abusive schemes and loss of revenues;
Amendment 200 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Calls for personal income tax (structure of rates, exemptions, deductions, allowances, credits, etc.) to be designed to actively promote equal sharing of paid and unpaid work, income and pension rights between women and men, and to eliminate incentives that perpetuate unequal gender roles;
Amendment 201 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 b (new)
Paragraph 12 b (new)
12 b. Notes that corporation and wealth taxes play a crucial role in reducing inequality through redistribution within the tax system and in providing revenues to fund social provisions and social transfers; fully supports the IMF recommendation in its Fiscal Monitor of April 2021 to introduce a temporary COVID-19 recovery contribution levied on high incomes or wealth to meet pandemic-related financing;
Amendment 208 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Observes that also businesses can through corporate social responsibility initiatives increase tax morale; 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; recommends the European Commission and Member States to include such matters in public procurement and tender procedures;
Amendment 221 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Calls on the Commission to publish a roadmap and toolkit to guide Member States in reforming their tax systems post COVID-19; calls on the Commission to launch a comprehensive evaluation, to be followed by an action plan, on existing and important distortions in all tax areas that could severely impede Member States in reforming their tax systems and to protect their tax base and create a resilient and fair tax mix; calls on the Commission to launch legislative proposals introducing minimum standards, such as base or rate harmonisation, where needed to coordinate better taxation efforts;
Amendment 226 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
Amendment 236 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Calls on the Commission to present legislative proposals to bring VAT rates in line with environmental and health considerations and consider differentiated VAT rates based on product circularity, asks to remove exemptions for international passenger air and maritime transport, and increase relevant minimum excise duties that have lost their effect due to inflation; seeks to pair these reforms with efforts to maintain purchasing power for those with the lowest income levels in the European Union;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Paragraph 16 b (new)
Amendment 242 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to propose an SME tax simplification package that aims to make tax compliance more streamlined and easier for small and medium-sized businesses; this package should consist of measures for making tax reporting less burdensome, encouraging Member States and national tax administrations to digitalise their processes, and to explore ways for moving towards simplified e-accounting, e- declarations and even automatic declarations for SMEs; reminds in this regard the importance of learning from best practices in different countries and cooperative compliance;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Calls on the Commission to set up a centralised database of VAT rates in EU Member States with a legal obligation on Member States to keep it up to date – which is not the case for the current VIES database maintained by the Commission;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Recalls on the Commission and the Member States to carry out regular gender impact assessments of fiscal policies from a gender equality perspective focusing on the multiplier effect and implicit bias to ensure that neither direct nor indirect discrimination feature in any fiscal policies in the EU; recalls further the Commission to meet its legal obligation to promote gender equality, including in its assessments of fundamental tax policy design; underlines that reviews of Member States’ tax systems within the European Semester, as well as country- specific recommendations, require thorough analyses in this regard;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18 a (new)
Paragraph 18 a (new)
18 a. Calls for a multilateral initiative at UN or G20 level to introduce minimum carbon tax standards including a rate; notes that such multilateral initiative could lead to a Multilateral Carbon Tax Treaty that would put all countries-, high- ,middle- and low-income countries on different pathways for application of a carbon tax, according to their differing levels of economic and social development; observes that recent analysis by the IMF and OECD shows that 55% of CO2-emissions from energy use across OECD and G20 countries remain completely unpriced;