Transparency International have issued the following press release in the last hour. It's good to see the EU Parliament is still willing to take the lead in arguing for\u00a0country-by-country reporting:<\/p>\n
European Parliament Committee Sets the Tone for Europe\u2019s Debate on Multinational Transparency<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Amid public outcry on tax dodging, Parliamentarians respond with concrete measures to level the playing field<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Brussels, 07 May 2015<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n In another move that places Europe at the forefront of the financial transparency wave, the Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee of the European Parliament voted in favor of a Shareholders Rights Directive that includes a requirement for multinational corporations (MNCs) to publicly report financial information on a country by country level.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cUp until now, we\u2019ve had to rely on leaks, whistleblowers, and secret documents to learn if a multinational is engaging in aggressive tax planning and profit shifting,\u201d said Koen Roovers, Lead EU Advocate for the Financial Transparency Coalition. \u201cBut today\u2019s vote brings the transparency Europe needs closer to reality.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n In the wake of the LuxLeaks scandal, which exposed hundreds of MNCs that had entered into secret tax deals with the government of Luxembourg, there has been a renewed public focus on corporate transparency and tax dodging.<\/em><\/p>\n Public country by country reporting (CBCR) would require MNCs to disclose things like the amount of profit made, taxes paid, revenue generated and number of employees for each country where a subsidiary operates. Right now, MNCs report on their operations in one consolidated global report, without any way of discerning country specific operations.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cThis kind of detailed corporate reporting can help to flag up possible corruption by shedding a light on special arrangements between companies and governments.\u201d said Nienke Palstra, Senior Policy Officer with Transparency International EU. \u201cIt will also improve the accountability of companies to the citizens of the countries where they make their profits.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n The vote comes as the European Commission begins an assessment of the benefits of CBCR as part of the EC\u2019s tax transparency package. The package also called for the exchange of tax rulings between European countries, something that\u2019s currently kept secret. Some sectors of the economy already have to report this information.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cLarge European banks are already making this information available to the public and this is not having any negative impact on their competitiveness\u201d, says Catherine Olier, Oxfam\u2019s EU policy advisor. \u201cIf banks are opening their own books, why shouldn\u2019t other big companies do the same at a time when European citizens are fed up with unfair corporate tax dodging?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cCompanies that are operating in one jurisdiction already report this type of information, so it\u2019s not only a question of transparency,\u201d said Tove Ryding, Eurodad\u2019s tax justice advocacy manager. \u201cIt\u2019s about creating a level playing field between small and medium enterprises and their transnational competitors,\u201d added Ryding.<\/em><\/p>\n Tax authorities aren\u2019t the only ones that want this information, either. Investors need the very same knowledge; knowing if a corporation is operating in unstable areas, using tax havens, or engaging in the type of aggressive tax planning that can ruin a reputation are vital to making sound business investments.<\/em><\/p>\n ------<\/em><\/p>\n Notes to the Editor:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\n
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