Strasbourg, 27.04.2012 \u2014 The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has demanded a series of steps to end what it calls \u201cmassive tax avoidance, evasion and fraud\u201d caused by secrecy jurisdictions, tax havens and offshore financial centres.<\/p>\n
Adopting a resolution based on a report by Dirk van der Maelen (Belgium, SOC), the parliamentarians said tackling global distortions due to harmful or predatory tax practices \u2014 including bank secrecy, lack of transparency and effective public oversight, regulatory dumping, predatory tax arrangements and abusive accounting techniques within multinational companies \u2014 was \u201ca moral duty\u201d because they drain public finances and cause serious harm to the public interest.<\/p>\n
\u201cThanks to growing public outcries, international co-operation has intensified, notably at the G20 level, to tackle the root problems concerning tax havens [\u2026]. However, the situation is far from satisfactory, and further progress is needed to close legal gaps and loopholes,\u201d the Assembly said.<\/p>\n
Among other things, the Assembly called for:<\/p>\n
\u00b7 stepping up pressure over secrecy jurisdictions and tax havens identified in the report to phase out fiscal bank secrecy<\/p>\n
\u00b7 country-by-country reporting by multinationals wherever they operate, across all business sectors<\/p>\n
\u00b7 a ban on anonymous accounts, off-balance-sheet bookkeeping and bearer shares<\/p>\n
\u00b7 disclosure of the ultimate beneficial ownership of all business entities, notably trusts and funds<\/p>\n
\u00b7 harmonisation of tax practices across Europe and beyond<\/p>\n
\u00b7 moving towards the automatic exchange of all tax information<\/p>\n
\u00b7 ending artificial tax minimisation techniques \u201cwhich may be legal but not ethical\u201d<\/p>\n
The parliamentarians concluded: \u201cSound tax systems are the cornerstone of public finances: they underpin democratic governance, state authority, macroeconomic stability and social cohesion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adopted text<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n Full report<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n Voting result<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n