EU Seals Loop Holes For Avoiding Tax
Dailycsr.com – 30 June 2016 – Brian Collett reports that the new set of rules on EU guidelines, is asking the “member countries to exchange information on multinationals’ tax affairs”. The same requirements will be made functional in the coming month of July.
It is a Europe-wide effort to make the corporate sectors transparent and to encourage them to practice ethical business:
“The rules, agreed by EU finance ministers, are expected to be adopted formally by all 28 states and to come into force immediately”.
Nevertheless, these set of rules may not apply on “foreign companies” till next year for it is feared that some countries “would discourage inward investment”, as there is an increasing concern for avoiding tax loop by “multinational companies” like Amazon will annually cost EU countries as much as “€70bn”, equivalent to “$79bn”, and “£55bn”. However, critics have insisted that tax should be applied on income based on the country wherein the respective amount has been earned.
In the words of Netherland’s Finance Minister, also EU Minister’s Chairman, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, stated:
“We reached a political agreement on co-operation between tax administrations, country-by-country reporting. This is part of our work on the anti-tax avoidance package.”
While, the “Panama Papers” have shown the ways “ultra-rich individuals” flee tax requirements, whereby the new regulation that has been separately chalked out by the European countries do not leave any loop for such tax avoidance scandal like Panama Papers. Brian Collett writes:
“Under these regulations, agreed by Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain at the International Monetary Fund spring meetings, information about the true owners of complex shell companies and overseas trusts will be shared automatically”.
The said regulation, described by the “UK chancellor George Osborne” is “a hammer blow against those that would illegally evade taxes and hide their wealth in the dark corners of the financial system”.
While, Osborne adds:
“Strong words of condemnation are not enough. Populist outrage doesn’t by itself collect a single extra pound or dollar in tax or put a single criminal in jail.
“What we need is international action now, and that’s precisely what we are doing today with real concrete action in the war against tax evasion.”
The Secretary General at the “Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development”, Ángel Gurría, said:
“We have to crack down on the professional enablers – lawyers, accountants, financial institutions – that play a key role in maintaining the veil of secrecy.”
Moreover, in a warning a letter penned by the “signatories to fellow G20 nations” states:
“Criminals continue to find ways to exploit the cracks in the current system, setting up complex structures in various and often multiple locations to hide their activities … This requires a global response.”
Nevertheless, John McDonnell although welcomes the “agreement”, yet complains that it does not take into consideration the British overseas territories’ “tax havens”.
References:
http://www.ethicalperformance.com/
It is a Europe-wide effort to make the corporate sectors transparent and to encourage them to practice ethical business:
“The rules, agreed by EU finance ministers, are expected to be adopted formally by all 28 states and to come into force immediately”.
Nevertheless, these set of rules may not apply on “foreign companies” till next year for it is feared that some countries “would discourage inward investment”, as there is an increasing concern for avoiding tax loop by “multinational companies” like Amazon will annually cost EU countries as much as “€70bn”, equivalent to “$79bn”, and “£55bn”. However, critics have insisted that tax should be applied on income based on the country wherein the respective amount has been earned.
In the words of Netherland’s Finance Minister, also EU Minister’s Chairman, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, stated:
“We reached a political agreement on co-operation between tax administrations, country-by-country reporting. This is part of our work on the anti-tax avoidance package.”
While, the “Panama Papers” have shown the ways “ultra-rich individuals” flee tax requirements, whereby the new regulation that has been separately chalked out by the European countries do not leave any loop for such tax avoidance scandal like Panama Papers. Brian Collett writes:
“Under these regulations, agreed by Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain at the International Monetary Fund spring meetings, information about the true owners of complex shell companies and overseas trusts will be shared automatically”.
The said regulation, described by the “UK chancellor George Osborne” is “a hammer blow against those that would illegally evade taxes and hide their wealth in the dark corners of the financial system”.
While, Osborne adds:
“Strong words of condemnation are not enough. Populist outrage doesn’t by itself collect a single extra pound or dollar in tax or put a single criminal in jail.
“What we need is international action now, and that’s precisely what we are doing today with real concrete action in the war against tax evasion.”
The Secretary General at the “Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development”, Ángel Gurría, said:
“We have to crack down on the professional enablers – lawyers, accountants, financial institutions – that play a key role in maintaining the veil of secrecy.”
Moreover, in a warning a letter penned by the “signatories to fellow G20 nations” states:
“Criminals continue to find ways to exploit the cracks in the current system, setting up complex structures in various and often multiple locations to hide their activities … This requires a global response.”
Nevertheless, John McDonnell although welcomes the “agreement”, yet complains that it does not take into consideration the British overseas territories’ “tax havens”.
References:
http://www.ethicalperformance.com/
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