12 Amendments of Gunnar HÖKMARK related to 2016/0010(CNS)
Amendment 10 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2
Recital 2
(2) As Multi National Enterprise (MNE) Groups are active in different countries, they have the possibility of engaging in aggressive tax planning practices that are not available for domestic companies. When MNEs do so, purely domestic companies, normally small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) may be particularly affected as their tax burden is higher than that of MNE Groups. On the other hand, all Member States may suffer revenue losses and there iMember States might suffer revenue losses and there is the risk of distorted competition between small and new companies and MNE Groups as well as the risk of competition between Member States to attract MNE Groups by offering them further tax benefits. There is therefore a problem for the proper functioning of the Internal Market.
Amendment 15 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 a (new)
Recital 2 a (new)
(2a) It is of vital importance for the Union that tax rules are designed not to impair growth, reduce investments or put Union companies at a competitive disadvantage.
Amendment 16 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 b (new)
Recital 2 b (new)
(2b) Tax rules should be designed not to increase the risk of double taxation of companies, since that can be detrimental to growth and investments in the Union.
Amendment 17 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 2 c (new)
Recital 2 c (new)
(2c) Tax rules should be designed to minimise costs and administrative burdens for companies.
Amendment 18 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 3
Recital 3
(3) Union tax authorities need comprehensive and relevant information on MNE Groups regarding their structure, transfer pricing policy and internal transactions in and outside the EU. That information will enable the tax authorities to react to harmful tax practices through changes in the legislation or adequate risk assessments and tax audits, and to identify whether companies have engaged in practices that have the effect of artificially shifting substantial amounts of income into tax-advantaged environments.
Amendment 24 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 4
Recital 4
Amendment 34 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5 a (new)
Recital 5 a (new)
(5a) A country-by-country report will be helpful for high-level transfer pricing risk assessment purposes. It could be used by tax administrations for evaluating other tax risks and also be appropriate for economic and statistical analysis. However, the information in a country- by-country report should not be used as a substitute for a detailed transfer pricing analysis of individual transactions and prices based on a fully functional analysis and a full comparability analysis. The information in a country-by-country report on its own does not constitute conclusive evidence that transfer prices are or are not appropriate. The report should not be used by tax administrations to propose transfer pricing adjustments based on a global formulary apportionment of income.
Amendment 35 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 5 b (new)
Recital 5 b (new)
(5b) The information in a country-by- country report is closely connected to transfer pricing information which is not public. It is therefore of vital importance that the information in a country-by- country report is subject to confidentiality and that appropriate safeguards are in place limiting the use of the information exchanged.
Amendment 40 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 7
Recital 7
(7) In order to enhance the efficient use of public resources and reduce the administrative burden for MNE Groups, the reporting obligation should only apply to MNE Groups with annual consolidated group revenue exceeding a certain amount. That amount should not be lower than what is established according to Action 13 of the OECD BEPS Action Plan to ensure a level playing field for companies. The Directive should ensure that the same information is collected and made available to tax administrations in a timely manner throughout the EU.
Amendment 60 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 13
Recital 13
(13) In order to minimise costs and administrative burdens both for tax administrations and for MNE Groups, as well as to ensure a level playing field for MNE Groups, it is necessary to provide rules that are in line with the international developments and contribute positively to their implementation. On 19 July 2013 the Organisation for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD) published an Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS Action Plan) which is a major initiative for modifying existing international tax rules. On 5 October 2015 the OECD presented its final reports that were endorsed by the G20 Finance Ministers. During the meeting of 15 and 16 November 2015, the OECD package was also endorsed by the G20 leaders.
Amendment 61 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 14
Recital 14
(14) The work on Action 13 of the BEPS Action Plan resulted in a set of standards for providing information for MNE Groups, including the masterfile, the local file and the country-by-country report. It is therefore appropriate to take into account the OECD standards when establishing the rules on the country-by-country report in the Union. That should be done by adopting requirements for a country-by- country report that are identical to Action 13 of the BEPS Action Plan.
Amendment 65 #
Proposal for a directive
Recital 15
Recital 15
(15) Union action in the area of country- by-country reporting should continue to take particular account of future developments at OECD level. In implementing this Directive, Member States should use the 2015 Final Report on Action 13 of the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project, developed by the OECD, as a source of illustration orand interpretation of this Directive and in order to ensure consistency in application across Member States.