Activities of Michèle RIVASI related to 2022/2080(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the lessons learnt from the Pandora Papers and other revelations
Amendments (28)
Amendment 1 #
Draft opinion
Recital A (new)
Recital A (new)
A. whereas parties to the Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development committed to enhance revenue administration through modernized, progressive tax systems, more efficient tax collection, as well as to scale up international tax cooperation;
Amendment 2 #
Draft opinion
Recital B (new)
Recital B (new)
B. whereas global tax competition has resulted in a shift of the tax burden to workers and low-income households; has impinged upon the possibility of developing countries to enhance domestic resource mobilisation and has forced damaging cutbacks in public services in poor countries;
Amendment 3 #
Draft opinion
Recital C (new)
Recital C (new)
C. whereas Corporate Income Tax represents a higher share of tax revenues and GDP in developing countries than in rich countries; whereas in developing countries, losses due to global corporate taxation are estimated to range from 6 to 13 per cent of total tax revenue, versus 2 to 3 per cent in OECD countries[1]; [1] UNCTAD report (p.12) https://unctad.org/system/files/official- document/aldcafrica2020_en.pdf
Amendment 4 #
Draft opinion
Recital D (new)
Recital D (new)
D. whereas automatic exchange of information is an effective tool to tackle tax evasion and other IFFs;
Amendment 5 #
Draft opinion
Recital E (new)
Recital E (new)
E. whereas in October 2021, the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (IF) agreed a two-pillar solution to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy; but whereas some developing countries expressed concerns, or even refused to endorse this global corporate tax deal (as in the case Kenya and Nigeria);
Amendment 6 #
Draft opinion
Recital F (new)
Recital F (new)
F. whereas according to the report “Tax Transparency in Africa 2022. Africa Initiative Progress report”[1], illicit financial flows are estimated to be in the range of USD 50-80 billion (EUR 48-77 billion) annually for the continent; [1] The report is a joint publication by the African Union Commission, the African Tax Administration Forum and the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum).
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Recital G (new)
Recital G (new)
G. whereas in 2019, the Africa Group at the United Nations called for a UN Convention on Tax, as an important tool to tackle illicit financial flows; and whereas in February 2021, the High Level Panel on International Financial Accountability, Transparency and Integrity for Achieving the 2030 Agenda (the FACTI Panel) also included the proposal for a UN Tax Convention as a key recommendation in its final report;
Amendment 8 #
Draft opinion
Recital H (new)
Recital H (new)
H. whereas the potential offered by the taxation of extractive industries to boost fiscal revenues is by and large not well exploited in developing countries due to the inadequacy of tax rules or to difficulties in enforcing them, since transnational companies frequently resort to tax avoidance techniques; whereas this challenge is all the more acute for low- income countries that are heavily dependent on natural resources for their initial development drive;
Amendment 10 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph -1 a (new)
Paragraph -1 a (new)
-1a. Emphasises that Illicit Financial Flows is a matter of global governance; urges the EU to show strong political will and determination against tax avoidance and evasion, in line with the principle of Policy Coherence for Development, as enshrined in article 208 of the Lisbon Treaty;
Amendment 13 #
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; stresses that the lack of transparency, including international information sharing, is a key underlying cause of tax-related illicit financial flows;
Amendment 17 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Emphasises that the practices brought to light by the Pandora Papers revelations have a severe impact on the fiscal space of developing countries; recalls that tax avoidance by wealthy individuals and corporations shifts the tax burden from larger businesses to smaller and medium-sized businesses that do not have the resources to access similar sophisticated tax planning arrangements. It also shifts the tax burden onto consumption through personal income tax and value-added tax, which is particularly problematic in LDCs where small, medium and micro-enterprises (SMMEs) and informal traders make up the bulk of economic activity and are more vulnerable to significantly reduced income and insecurity;
Amendment 23 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Highlights the international commitment to significantly reduce illicit financial flows by 2030, as contained in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development;
Amendment 31 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. CReminds that globalisation has affected the ability of countries to generate domestic government revenues and to choose their taxation structure; 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 South; stresses that multinational corporations should pay taxes in the countries where economic activity occurs and value is created;
Amendment 33 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3 a (new)
Paragraph 3 a (new)
3a. Stresses that the digitalization of the economy has exacerbated existing problems relating to corporate tax avoidance and evasion, and the importance of ensuring fair and effective taxation of digital services;
Amendment 40 #
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 capacities and mid to long-term growth prospects; highlights the increase in inequality and poverty caused by the lack of fiscal space as a result of tax avoidance; recalls that the fight against cross-border tax evasion is crucial as a means to expand the tax base; increase tax revenue and to protect the integrity and fairness of tax systems;
Amendment 47 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Recalls that the upcoming global corporate minimum tax will define a fixed baseline for corporate taxation, 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 of tax avoiders; recalls that the distribution of taxing rights between countries must be fair, equitable and in line with the goal of reducing inequalities among countries;
Amendment 50 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Stresses that tax transparency and exchange of information are essential to stem illicit financial flows and increase domestic resource mobilisation, which is of particular importance to fulfil Sustainable Development Goals, including the African Union Agenda 2063, especially in the current context, marked by rising debt, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequences of the war in Ukraine on African economies;
Amendment 54 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. CRecalls that transparency of ownership and control of companies, trusts and other legal entities is critical to combat illicit financial flows; in this regards calls on Member States to ensure a full implementation of Directive (EU) 2018/843 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 30 May 2018 amending Directive (EU)2015/849 on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purposes of money laundering or terrorist financing; 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 calls for greater efforts to tackle financial secrecy, including supporting capacity-building for tax administrations and tax investigations in developing countries.
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6a. Recalls the two-pillar solution of October 2021, agreed by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS 2.0) to address the tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of the economy, and the critics expressed by developing countries, including the African Tax Administration Forum, for side-lining their interests and for not sufficiently addressing the specific loopholes that limit the taxation rights of African countries;
Amendment 60 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 b (new)
Paragraph 6 b (new)
6b. Stresses that international cooperation is vital for achieving fair and effective domestic tax systems;
Amendment 61 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 c (new)
Paragraph 6 c (new)
6c. Calls on the EU to support the setting-up of a UN Framework Convention on Tax, with the aim to strengthening international cooperation and governance on tax and trade-related illicit financial flows; highlights the need to introducing transparent and inclusive decision-making where all countries can negotiate as equals;
Amendment 63 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 d (new)
Paragraph 6 d (new)
6d. Recalls that the EU and its Member States have recognised that fair, progressive and effective tax systems are vital for the achievement of other UN goals and commitments; stresses that the proposal for a UN Convention on Tax aims to build on these agreements, to increase economic justice at the global level, and respond to the urgent need for new and additional public resources to combat the major global challenges of our time;
Amendment 64 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 e (new)
Paragraph 6 e (new)
6e. Recalls that most developing countries struggle to fully realise the expected revenues from the mining sector due to a range of challenges, both external, such as aggressive tax planning by multinationals, and internal, including weak enforcement of tax laws and overly generous tax incentives to transnational companies; stresses the need to achieve a fair balance between national and investor interests in the design of mining fiscal regime; deems that the fiscal conditions and regulations under which extractive industries operate shall be revised;
Amendment 65 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 f (new)
Paragraph 6 f (new)
6f. Urges the EU to ensuring a fair distribution of taxing rights while negotiating tax and investment treaties with developing countries; and calls on the EU to increase its technical assistance and funding to strengthen their tax administration;
Amendment 66 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 g (new)
Paragraph 6 g (new)
6g. Acknowledges that the extractive sector is particularly prone to illicit outflows in Africa; believes that the review of tax treaties should aim to strengthening the bargaining position of host governments to obtain better returns from their natural resources base and stimulate diversification of their economy; in addition, takes the view that the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) should be made mandatory and extended: they should not focus only on governments but also on producing firms and commodity trading companies;
Amendment 67 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 h (new)
Paragraph 6 h (new)
6h. Stresses that multinational companies should report tax information in each country where they operate; encourages developing countries to enact mandatory country-by-country and project-by-project reporting requirements, notably in the mining sector;
Amendment 68 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 i (new)
Paragraph 6 i (new)
6i. Calls on governments of developing countries to intensify the fight against corruption and money laundering, as a means to contribute to tackling illicit financial flows;
Amendment 69 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6 j (new)
Paragraph 6 j (new)
6j. Encourages developing countries to develop regional integration arrangements on tax incentives to prevent harmful competition in the effort to attract foreign direct investment;