Activities of Frances FITZGERALD related to 2022/2080(INI)
Plenary speeches (1)
Lessons learnt from the Pandora Papers and other revelations (debate)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the lessons learnt from the Pandora Papers and other revelations
Amendments (10)
Amendment 11 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Denounces the existence of a shadowy offshore financial system with offices all over the world, which is allowing enrichment at the public’s expense; tructures in numerous jurisdictions around the world, which have the purpose of facilitating tax avoidance and which could be used for illegal practices such as tax evasion and money laundering;
Amendment 16 #
2. Emphasises that the practices brought to light by the Pandora Papers revelations have a severe impact on the fiscal space of developing countriesundermine confidence in the benefits of the global financial system for raising living standards around the world, particularly in developing countries; highlights the need to work in global international fora to restore this confidence;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Condemns the decision of the Council from 5 October 2021 to remove Anguilla, Dominica, and the Seychelles from the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, which impacts the EU’s fight for a globally transparent tax system and therefore urges the Council to reconsider its decision;
Amendment 27 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Considers that tax avoidance by multinationals and the existence of tax havens offering no or extremely low effective tax rates are heavily detrimental to the fair collection of tax in countries in the Global Southpractices, though legal, can impact severely upon the fiscal capacity of countries in the Global South including the ability to invest in robust tax-collection structures;
Amendment 35 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Points out that names in the Pandora Papers include political leaders in developing countries that heavily depend on aid from the European Union;
Amendment 36 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 b (new)
Paragraph 3 b (new)
3b. Recalls the reputational risk for countries which facilitate taxation structures that are not deemed to be sufficiently transparent; Recalls also the security risks that may arise from the misuse of financial structures that are not deemed to be sufficiently transparent;
Amendment 37 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 c (new)
Paragraph 3 c (new)
3c. Stresses the need for effective sanctions mechanisms as regards the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes;
Amendment 38 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Emphasises the structural implications of the tax avoidance practices of both multinationals and individuals for developing countries’ fiscal capacitiHighlights the ongoing need for global cooperation to investigate suspected cases of tax evasion and anti- money laundering; Notes the several existing international initiatives on the Automatic Exchange of Information for tax compliance purposes, and mid to long-term growth prospects; highlights the increase in inequality and poverty caused bys well as the OECD Common Reporting Standard for automatic reporting of information on the offshore financial accounts of non- residents to their jurisdiction of residence and the lacwork of fiscal space as a result of tax avoidancthe OECD’s Joint International Taskforce on Shared Intelligence and Collaboration (JITSIC) Network in which 19 EU Member States currently participate;
Amendment 45 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that the upcoming global corporate minimum tax will define a fixed baseline for corporate taxaNotes the agreement on the OECD Two Pillar Solution, thereby combating corporate tax avoidance, and calls for the resulting fiscal capacities to be used to build resilient, sustainable and equal societies; calls for international cooperation on the corporate minimum tax to be utilised in such a way as to introduce better transparency measures for the prosecution ofo address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy including in relation to the global corporate taxation framework which has the aim of benefiting society by increasing transparency and reducing opportunities for tax avoidersance;
Amendment 53 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for full international transparency on the real owners of letterbox companies and real estate; considers that the international exchange of information needs to be expanded to identify tax evaders and cgreater and more efficient international exchange of information between fiscal authorities to tackle financial crime; Calls for greater efforts to tackle financial secpromote transparency, including respect of letterbox companies and supporting for capacity-building for tax administrations and tax investigations in developing countries.