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EU proposes tax reforms amid tax avoidance controversies

New legislation unveiled by the European Commission hopes to force EU governments to share detail...
Newstalk
Newstalk

12.37 18 Mar 2015


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EU proposes tax reforms amid t...

EU proposes tax reforms amid tax avoidance controversies

Newstalk
Newstalk

12.37 18 Mar 2015


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New legislation unveiled by the European Commission hopes to force EU governments to share details of their tax deals with multinational corporations with their European partners.

The Commission hopes that this will lead to self-policing by EU states, as all European tax authorities will be able to review each state's tax systems.

This falls short of campaigners hopes that tax policies would be shared in public documents.

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The EU admits that public confidence has been damaged by a series of tax scandals, including the 'LuxLeaks' papers published by The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ).

A series of international news outlets shared stories based on a cache of 28,000 leaked documents that outlined what appears to be industrial scale tax-avoidance in the small EU state.

The document published by the European Commission today acknowledges that EU countries have "contributed to, and encouraged, aggressive tax planning."

The Commission aims to make these rules mandatory by the end of next year - but the draft legislation will need to be endorsed by the 28 EU member states, and the European Parliament.

The EU has committed to publishing more tax initiatives by this summer.

It has also pledged to bring the prospect of harmonised corporate tax rates in the EU back to the table. Such a policy would be likely to be staunchly opposed by the Irish Government.

The European Commission is currently investigating Apple's tax payments in the Republic of Ireland. A ruling on this case is expected in the second quarter of this year.


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