21 Amendments of Andreas SCHWAB related to 2020/2259(INI)
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital A
Recital A
A. whereas the fiscal system must be reformed if the state is to continue establishing the preconditions for inclusiveto help companies to be more competitive, to encourage private initiative investments, so that more jobs can be generated and the states continue guaranteeing the collection of revenue to finance their essential functions and a sustainable well-being;
Amendment 28 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the economic recovery and, the climate crisis have increased the need to mobilise more resources andecological transition and the digitization of the economy involve very profound changes that force us to re- evaluate the current taxation policies so that this transition is fair, helping our companies and our SMEs to be more competitive and to continue creating jobs;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas tax morale is generally higher in countries that tax more heavily, which is evidence forterritories with lower taxes, which is evidence that lowering taxes can increase collection and boost the economy, the willingness of citizens and companies to pay tax in return for effective public services9 ; _________________ 9 https://www.oecd- ilibrary.org/sites/0533eea9- en/index.html?itemId=/content/component/ 0533eea9-en;
Amendment 55 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital D
Recital D
D. whereas the 2011 EU flagship initiative for a resource-efficient Europe called for 10 % of total government taxation revenue to come from environmental taxationenvironmental taxation; environmental tax revenue in the EU amounted to €330.6 billion, corresponding to 2.4% of GDP in 2019 according to Eurostat; whereas according to the Commission beginning of the last decade some Member States have achieved, through various steps of environmental tax reforms, a share of environmental tax revenues in total taxes of more than 10%;
Amendment 66 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital E
Recital E
E. whereas small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and middle classes are particularly affected by the complexities of the tax system and tax compliance, disproportionately so compared to multinational enterprises (MNEs)the objective of fiscal reforms must be to reduce the tax burden on them;
Amendment 80 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that COVID-19 has given the EU a unique chance forthe structural changes that our economies are experiencing as a result of digitization, climate goals and the crisis derived from the global pandemic COVID-19 has given the EU and its member states a unique chance to strengthen free and single market and make ourselves more competitive in strategic sectors; in order to achieve that it is necessary a proper and holistic analysis of tax systems, how individual taxes interact and how they can be better coordinated to producbecome more flexible, resilient, green andattractive to private investment and job creation, more competitive ,sustainable fairer tax systems ; recommendscalls on thate Member States take into account this opportunity to build a new social- fiscal contract with citizenssimplify their tax systems, to strengthen the single market, to reduce the existing tax burdens on SMEs and the middle classes ; underlines that this will help not only with raising revenues, but also withto stimulate economic growth and job creation, as well as to building trust and accountability between citizens and the state; stresses the need for coordination at EU level to avoid distortions and subsequent revenue losseswhile respecting the competences of the Member Sates and free tax competition;
Amendment 93 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Highlights 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 large public investments to sustainfor this reason, Europe has to opt for its strategic autonomy, it has to compete to be a world leader in strategic sectors and it has to transform and modernize its industry to achieve the balance of public accounts, the economic recovery, job creation and the green transition, the ageing of our societies and the consequent reduction in the working- age population, the digital transformation of our labour markets, increased tax competition and the existing tax gap10 ; _________________ 10European Commission, ‘Tax policies in the European Union’ survey, 2020, https://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/bus iness/company-tax/tax-good- governance/european-semester/tax- policies-european-union-survey_en;
Amendment 101 #
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;Takes note of the Commisson’s observation that the tax burden in the EU has consistently increased since 2010 and that in 2018, tax revenues, measured as percentage of GDP, increased slightly in the European Union (EU-27) up to 40.2 %; takes note that in 2018,revenues remained almost equally distributed among indirect taxes, direct taxes and social contributions and that the distribution of revenues by tax base (consumption, labour and capital) remained stable compared with previous years (around 52 % from labour, 28 % from consumption and 20 % from capital), 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 ; _________________ 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[1];
Amendment 110 #
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; _________________ 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; calls on Member States to increase their efforts in the digitalization of the tax administration and to strengthen international cooperation in order to better deal with the tendency to rely on immobile tax bases;
Amendment 119 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Observes that in spite offollowing the numerous calls for shifting taxation from labour to pollution, revenues from taxes on pollution and resources in particular have remained very low, and ye led to the fact that environmental tax revenue covering energy taxes, transport taxes as well as pollution and resource taxes increased in absolute terms between2002 and 2019 according to Eurostat, highlights in this regard that they offer a potentialn existing 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;
Amendment 128 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
Amendment 134 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Deplores the negative social and economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic leading to bankrupt enterprises, loss of market shares by SMEs and unemployment resulting in a loss of the Member states tax base; welcomes that in this regard,Member States and the Commission have tried to secure jobs and to protect the tax base while supporting SMEs and the middle class through a wide set of measures among others tax exemptions, deductions, credits, deferrals and reduced tax rates[1];calls on Member States to restrain from introducing new taxes till the recovery of the economy will reach the pre-pandemic level that might otherwise put further burden on vulnerable citizens and SMEs;[1]
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. NTake notes that COVID-19 has demonstrated that the current disproportionate reliance on labour income taxes and social contributions, which puts the onus on continued high levels of employment and consumption to fund government spending and policies, is neither sustainable nor economically effectiveose Member States having before the health crisis sound fiscal policies and a functioning tax system had been in a better position to deal with the economic and social hardship of citizens and SMEs; calls on Member States to improve their tax systems, especially strengthening tax collection and enforcement as suggested in the Commission’s communication of 3 March 2021 (COM(2021) 105 final) in order to pay off debts faster and to ease the current disproportionate reliance on labour income taxes and social contributions, which impedes sustainable economic development and job creation; welcomes in this regard the Commission’s communication of 15 July 2020(COM(2020)0312) sketching out measures aiming at reducing tax obstacles for businesses in the Single Market that will improve the business environment, enhance business competitiveness and contribute to economic growth;
Amendment 152 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Notes with concern that thee asymmetric 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; _________________ 14OECD, ‘Tax and Fiscal Policy in Response to the Coronavirus Crisis: Strengthening Confidence and Resilience’, 19 May 2020,https://www.oecd.org/ctp/on societies , acknowledges that the poorest households, the self-employed and workers of SMEs, have been the most severely hit; calls in this regard on Member States to supportinternational efforts at the G20/OECD level to close existing legal loopholes that enable mainly digital MNEs and high income individuals to engage in aggressive tax- policy/tax-and-fiscal-policy-in-response- to-the-coronavirus-crisis-strengthening- confidence-and-resilience.htmractices and enjoy the benefits of double non-taxation;
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Highlights that environmental taxesTakes note that the total revenue from taxes and social contributions increased in theEU-27 between 1995 and 2019 reaching 41,1 % of GDP according to the most recent available Eurostat data in 2019, Highlights that environmental taxes, which raised tax revenues by 113000 million since 2002, 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 expandingthe modification of these tax base for environmental taxes through inter alia natural resource taxes, distance-based charges in the transport sector, fuel prices, and the taxation of deforestation, landfill, incineration, pesticides and fertilizeres in order to alleviate households and to reach that households are no longer the main payers of both transport and pollution taxes (55,4%according to Eurostat) ;taking into account that ecological transition cannot be achieved only by means of sanctions and fiscal pressure, but also through citizen education and incentives that motivate companies to achieve the UE climate priorities;
Amendment 185 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Warns that national budgets cannot rrelying solely on environmental taxes alonerepresents a risk to adequate and stable tax bases, as some of these revenues will fall as environmental harm decreases over time; calls on Member States to develop holistic tax reforms, shifting taxation from labour to not only pollution but also capital and wealth16 ; _________________ 16European 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 204 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Observes that there is also room for significant revenue and efficiency gains at tax administration level; notes t hat an effective and, efficient and digitized tax administration, as well as a high degree of tax certainty, needs to serve the tax payers and can encourage investment and foster competitiveness;
Amendment 212 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Reminds the Commissioner for Economy that he should focus on making our tax systems simpler, clearer and easier to use as outlined in the mission letter from the Commission President as of 1 December 2019. Welcomes initiatives taken by the Commission within the framework of the Green Deal; notes with concern that no clear and holistic guidance exists on how taxation shcould contribute to achieving the goals set out in the Green Deal and considers that the taxation system should therefore be reformed; stresses the need to opt for the free market and free competition, instead of standing up for new taxes, because this will not lead to a true public awareness of the importance of fighting climate change; asks Member States to apply favourable tax treatment to certain sustainable and environmentally friendly business models and to use it as an incentive for other companies;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16
Paragraph 16
16. WelcomesLooks forward to the Commission’s soon- to-be-published revision of the Energy Taxation Directive17 [1]; calls on Member States to agree to close tax exemptions for aviation and maritime fuels, increase minimum rates and restore the level playing field; callthe Commission to present an impact assessment based equally on concerns of the protection of the environment and of international competitiveness onf the Commission to launch a proposal for a progressive European kerosene tax; _________________ 17 OJ L 283, 31.10.2003, p. 51.aviation and maritime sector before suggesting unilateral measures;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Calls on the Commission to propose anWelcomes the OECD’s recommendations of November 2020 on supporting SMEs[1]; Calls on the Commission to follow-up on OECD’s suggestions, to put the taxpayer at the center of the tax system rather than the tax administration ,and to propose a SME tax simplification package that aims to make tax compliance more streamlined and easier for small and medium-sized businesses;
Amendment 250 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18