EU must tackle aggressive methods of tax advisors and lawyers

New rules on middle-men from EU Commission

"The Commission has stepped up a gear in the fight against tax dumping in the EU," says Sven Giegold.

Greens/EFA Round up

Debriefing of the Strasbourg plenary week 12-15 June 2017

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary included: Tax justice: Country by country reporting; Glyphosate renewal; Energy efficiency labelling; 2016 report on Kosovo; Effort sharing regulation and President Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement; Trump's decision to withdraw the US from the Paris agreement; Panama Papers follow-up and the rule of law in Malta; Preparation of the European Council of 22 and 23 June 2017.

Follow-up of the Panama Papers and the rule of law in Malta

Briefing ahead of European Parliament Plenary Debate on Malta

The Panama Papers has been a blow on Malta’s reputation to fight anti-money laundering and enable tax dumping, with revelations by the ICIJ consortium in April 2016 that politically exposed members of the Maltese government owned shell companies in tax havens. This briefing looks at the revelations and sets out key asks of the Greens/EFA group.

Letter to European Commission on money laundering allegations in Malta

The European Commission must to look into these serious allegations and open an infringement procedure against Malta if deemed necessary.

Conservatives duck out of tax transparency reforms

Country by country reporting

Reforms to oblige big companies to reveal financial information in every country they operate would defend citizens’ interests and answer calls for the EU to do more against tax avoidance. The proposal is now at risk, after changes supported by the conservative and liberal groups in the European Parliament.

Country by country reporting can help end tax dodging

Tax Justice

The European Parliament has taken a major step to curb the secrecy which allows businesses to minimise their tax liabilities.

Panama Papers investigation: obstruction and lack of cooperation hinder progress

Greens/EFA paper on one year of the PANA committee

One year into the investigation of the Panama Papers, we look at what has been learned so far, and what needs to be done to deliver tax justice.

Mr Juncker answers European Parliament’s Panama Papers committee

We welcome support for our requests

It is not every day that the President of the European Commission visits the European Parliament and agrees to answer questions on committee work. This time, Mr Juncker accepted the invitation as the sitting President of the European Commission and former Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Luxembourg.

Juncker’s Luxembourg made money from the sidestepping of European law

Panama Papers inquiry committee

On Tuesday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will attend the PANA inquiry committee in the European Parliament. The former finance minister and prime minister of Luxembourg will face questions about his current and past record when it comes to tax transparency and justice.

How Luxembourg resisted European tax cooperation and made money with its circumvention

Time to ask Mr Juncker some questions

As Mr Juncker is coming to the inquiry committee investigating the Panama Papers on Tuesday 30th of May, the Greens publish a report showing how Luxembourg attempted between 2003 and 2005 to block a very important reform to fight tax evasion: the Savings tax Directive, which would automatically send tax information among Member States.

Greens/EFA Round up

Debriefing of the Strasbourg plenary week 15-18 May 2017

Greens/EFA priorities for the Strasbourg Plenary included: food waste; Commission statement: harnessing globalisation by 2025; ECJ ruling on competences of EU vs Member States in FTAs; Council and Commission statements - Making relocation happen; Vote on GMO objections; Situation in Hungary; Money laundering; Conclusions of the European Council meeting; Cross-border portability.

The role of middlemen in the Panama Papers

PANA investigation confirms Greens’ findings

The PANA committee’s findings support those outlined by the Greens earlier this year, namely that so-called intermediaries such as banks, law firms and accounting firms help clients to set up offshore structures for dodging taxes or laundering dirty money.