32 Amendments of Eero HEINÄLUOMA related to 2021/2097(INI)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 a (new)
Citation 27 a (new)
— having regard to the EU Tax Observatory's study "Revenue effects of the global minimum tax: country-by- country estimates"18a _________________ 18aEU Tax Observatory, 2021, "Revenue Effects of the Global Minimum Tax: Country-by-Country Estimates"
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 27 b (new)
Citation 27 b (new)
— having regards to the study ‘New forms of tax competition in the European Union: An empirical investigation’ published by the EU Tax Observatory on November 22 2021,
Amendment 14 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas some Member States have very high financial activity, notably passive income, in proportion to the size of the economy, which may be an indication that their legal system is used by multinationals for tax avoidance; whereas high flows of royalty, interest or dividend payments through a certain jurisdiction indicate that profits are being rerouted with the sole purpose of reducing the tax burden;
Amendment 18 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C a (new)
Recital C a (new)
C a. whereas the EU Tax Observatory has estimated that the implementation of the G20/OECD agreement's Pillar II will lead to an immediate gain of EUR 63.9 billion in tax revenues for the 27 Member States;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas complex refund procedures increase the administrative burden for cross-border investments and may create an obstacle to market integratmarket fragmentation, thus representing an obstacle to the development of a proper Capital Markets Union;
Amendment 30 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E a (new)
Recital E a (new)
E a. whereas the Commission has introduced non-binding measures to ease tax refund claim procedures in the past; whereas this is the case for the 2009 recommendation that outlined how EU Member States could simplify procedures for claiming cross-border withholding tax relief and which contained measures to eliminate the tax barriers that financial institutions faced in their securities investment activities, while at the same time protecting tax revenues against abuse; whereas, in 2017, the Commission also published a Code of Conduct which put forward new guidelines on withholding tax to help Member States reduce costs and simplify procedures for cross-border investors in the EU, whose application by Member States was voluntary;
Amendment 39 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas the European Commission considers that the transposition of Pillar 2 of the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework on BEPS should pave the way for agreeing the pending proposal for recasting the IRD20a _________________ 20a Communication from the Commission to the Commission to the European Parliament and the Council "Business Taxation for the 21st Century"
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
F b. whereas the Commission has pledged to propose a legislative initiative for introducing a common, standardised, EU-wide system for withholding tax relief at source, accompanied by an exchange of information and cooperation mechanism among tax administrations20b; whereas, in addition, the Commission has committed to assess the need for exchange of information and cooperation between tax authorities and financial markets supervisory authorities; _________________ 20bCommission Action Plan for Fair and Simple Taxation supporting the Recovery Strategy
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
F c. whereas in its inception impact assessment on “New EU system for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax abuse in the field of withholding taxes”, the Commission outlines three options to ensure the proper functioning of the Capital Markets Union, to facilitate cross-border investment and to prevent tax abuse; whereas option 1 consists of improving withholding tax refund procedures to make them more efficient; whereas Option 2 determines the establishment of a fully-fledged common EU relief at source system; whereas Option 3 focuses on enhancing the existing administrative cooperation framework to verify entitlement to double tax convention benefits;
Amendment 47 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G
Recital G
G. whereas the cum-ex and cum-cum schemes both involve reclaims of dividend withholding tax to which the beneficiaries were not entitled and are estimated to have imposed a total cost to taxpayers of about EUR 55 billion between 2001 and 2012 in the 11 Member States concerned; whereas new revelations in 2021 concerning these practices estimate that they have cost 10 governments, including those of Germany, Spain, France and the US, a total of €141bn;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is pleased that 1367 countries and jurisdictions have supported the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework agreement on a two-pillar reform; regrets the fact that one Member State is not part of the Inclusive Frameworkwelcomes the European Commission's intention to put forward a legislative proposal for the implementation of Pillar II until the end of 2021; believes that the issue of putting a floor to tax competition in the area of passive income is part of the implementation of the international deal on minimum effective taxation;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Is pleased that 1367 countries and jurisdictions have supported the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework agreement on a two-pillar reform; regrets the fact that onewelcomes that all Members State is not part of the Inclusive Frameworks committed to such international reform and is convinced this will ease and speed up implementation;
Amendment 72 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Reminds that withholding taxes can be a defensive measure that Member States take against countries mentioned in the EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes; recalls its request for the Commission to put forward a legislative proposal that contemplates coordinated defensive measures against listed countries, given that discretionary application by individual Member States is undermining this toolbox; highlights that the implementation of the G20/OECD agreement, notably Pillar II, must also be taken into account;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5 a. Calls on the Commission to give stronger weight to the implementation of recommendations addressing aggressive tax planning given its negative impact on tax revenues of neighbouring countries, particularly other Member States;
Amendment 84 #
6. Calls on the Commission and the Member States to set up a harmonised withholding tax framework that ensures that all dividend, interest and royalties payments flowing out the EU are taxed at a minimum effective tax rate; recalls its previous demand on the Commission to present a legislative proposal for an EU- wide withholding tax in order to ensure that profits generated within the Union are taxed at least once before leaving it20c; _________________ 20cEuropean Parliament resolution of 6 July 2016 on tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect (TAXE 2), para. 26
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Recalls the proposal by 10 Member States to include an effective minimum tax rate for royalties and interest in the context of the IRD; urges the Council to swiftly resume and conclude the negotiations on the IRD and encourages the inclusion of such a measurean effective minimum tax rate on payments to third countries in the announced directive for the implementation of Pillar II;
Amendment 101 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes that the lack of an effective minimum tax rate on dividend payments to non-group shareholders has triggered a race to the bottom in this field; calls for the adoption of an effective minimum tax rate for dividend payments to non-group shareholders in the EU, thereby reducing harmful tax competition in this realm;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Highlights the recent attempts by the Dutch government to scrap the withholding tax on dividend payments in order to appease the Royal Dutch Shell, which is proof not only of said race to the bottom environment, but also of the leverage that multinational corporations currently hold over tax policy of sovereign countries;
Amendment 110 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 b (new)
Paragraph 8 b (new)
8 b. Encourages the Commission to review all tax treaties in force and signed by Member States with third countries to ensure compliance with new global standards; asks the Commission to release recommendations to Member States regarding their existing bilateral tax treaties to ensure that they include general anti-abuse rules;
Amendment 114 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Recalls that in October 2018, an investigation disclosed that 11 Member States had lost up to EUR 55.2 billion in tax revenue as a result of cum-ex and cum- cum schemes, but that new estimates set the amount of loss of public revenue at much higher numbers, with these schemes continuing to take place;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the inquiry and final report by the European Securities and Markets Authority into cum-ex, cum-cum and withholding tax reclaim schemes, as requested by Parliament; calls on the Commission to propose measures to link tax reclaims to the underlying distribution of dividends, or tonotably through a unique identifier, and/or by entrusting a single entity in each Member State with responsibility for collecting the withholding tax and issuing the relevant tax certificate; to ensure that multiple tax reclaims over a single distribution cannot take place and that abuse of reclaim procedures is easily detected by tax administrations;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Calls on the Commission to propose measures to enhance cooperation and mutual assistance between tax authorities, financial market supervisory authorities and, where appropriate, law enforcement bodies regarding the detection and prosecution of withholding tax reclaim schemes; calls on the Commission, in particular, to propose legislation removing the current legal limitations for exchange of information between financial market supervisory authorities and tax authorities which was obtained through cooperation with other authorities within the EU, and to provide a legal basis for financial market supervisory authorities to exchange relevant information with tax authorities, notably to flag suspicious activities;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Highlights the importance of ensuring that financial market supervisors are mandated to use transaction reporting data and other regulatory information they receive not only to detect market abuse and short selling violations but also to detect financial crime in a broader sense, and WHT reclaim schemes; calls on the Commission to include this mandate in forthcoming reviews of EU legislation on the regulation of financial markets;
Amendment 133 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Recalls that Directive (EU) 2018/822 (DAC 6) introduced mandatory disclosure rules for cross-border arrangements, creating obligation on intermediaries to report potentially harmful tax arrangements; calls on the Commission to evaluate to what extent these rules have contributed to revealing harmful tax arrangements such as cum-cum and cum- ex schemes and to what extent they have had a deterrent effect;
Amendment 136 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13 a (new)
Paragraph 13 a (new)
13 a. Reiterates its call for DAC 6 to be strengthened in order to require the mandatory disclosure of dividend arbitrage schemes and all information on capital gains, including the granting of dividend and capital gains tax refunds;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Requires that such proposal addresses the need for a harmonised implementation that should cover tax treaties between Member States; calls on the Commission to develop an EU tax treaty model which could be used by Member States in their bilateral agreements with third countries;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Encourages the development of a harmonised EU procedure for withholding tax refunds for all Member States, thereby addressing the concerns about regulatory discrepancies; highlights that such harmonisation would be particularly helpful for retail investors, who are often deterred from completing refund procedures due to excessive burden caused by said discrepancies, thus improving the level playing field;
Amendment 153 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15 a (new)
Paragraph 15 a (new)
15 a. Points out that the Commission estimates costs related to withholding tax refund procedures, foregone tax relief and opportunity costs to be EUR 8.4 billion per year; highlights that such issues can particularly impact pension funds and collective investment funds (CIF), which are often unable to obtain their lawful treaty relief; notes that developing a register listing all pension funds and CIFs entitled to treaty relief could provide a reliable reduction of unwarranted withholding taxes in the short-term;
Amendment 158 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. NReckons that repayments of withholding taxes remain predominantly a paper driven process, which is not only slower and more burdensome for taxpayers, but also more prone to fraud; notes that digitalising these procedures and improving cooperation between national tax administrations could reduce the administrative burden and uncertainty in cross-border investments;
Amendment 162 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Takes note of the option to establish an EU system for relief at source; highlights that a move towards this type of system cannot be detrimental to the fight against tax abuse; stresses that, in all circumstances, compliance by the destination state with the agreement reached by the G20/OECD Inclusive Framework, or with the equivalent EU legislation implementing said agreement, must be a prerequisite for relief at source;
Amendment 169 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17 a (new)
Paragraph 17 a (new)
17 a. Takes note of the OECD Treaty Relief and Compliance Enhancement (TRACE) initiative, which empowers authorized intermediaries to reclaim withholding tax claims on portfolio investments; reminds that only one Member State has implemented TRACE; encourages others to assess the results, both in terms of administrative burden reduction, impact on tax revenue and fraud risks;