EU official calls for more efforts from member states to combat tax evasion

Member states need to pay more heed to coordinating their efforts in corporate taxation to combat tax evasion, said economic and financial affairs commissioner Pierre Moscovici on Monday.

Moscovici said the European Commission (EC) had actively supported European member states in their efforts to secure their domestic tax bases against aggressive tax planning and tax evasion, by framing a coordinated approach.

"Several initiatives have been launched, and important results have already been achieved," Moscovici said.

He stressed the importance of achievements on bank secrecy - with the revision of the Administrative Cooperation Directive - and the strengthening of the Parent-Subsidiary Directive, an initiative that eliminates tax obstacles, thanks to the inclusion of anti-abuse measures.

"The European Commission will propose legislative changes to the automatic exchange of information on tax rulings that will increase the transparency of the European tax system," said Moscovici.

Uncovered cases of tax evasion and tax avoidance have gained extensive press coverage, and the tax affairs of well-known multinational corporations and wealthy individuals have been widely debated, as demonstrated recently with the HSBC scandal.

Moscovici noted that a modern corporate what was required was a tax system "that is growth-friendly, conducive to investment, resilient to aggressive tax planning and to harmful tax practices, while at same time is open to fair tax competition between member states," Moscovici added. Endit