Tax dodging costing EU Member States €1trillion a year in lost revenue, say MEPs.
The European Parliament now has a “proper body to tackle Europe’s massive tax avoidance and evasion”.
That was the message from Greens/EFA group MEP Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, who also told this site that “The creation of the new tax subcommittee is a long-standing demand from the Greens/EFA group, and I would like to thank everyone who has pushed for it. I am both thrilled and honored to be appointed as vice-chair of the subcommittee."
She added that the subcommittee’s creation was “better late than never”, adding, “Parliament now has a proper body to tackle the massive tax avoidance and evasion that costs us billions of euros.
The new tax subcommittee will also help “shine a light on the shady practices of tax abuse", according to Portuguese Socialist member Pedro Marques, who also told the Parliament Magazine, “Our aim is to shine a light on the shady practices of tax abuse and design innovative solutions to deliver on tax justice.”
He pledged, “We will also make sure Europe’s tax system is ready for the future by exploring the move away from taxing labor and by fighting growing inequalities in income and wealth through progressive forms of taxation.”
Composed of 30 members, its mandate is to fight against tax fraud, tax evasion, and tax avoidance.
“The creation of the new tax subcommittee is a long-standing demand from the Greens/EFA group, and I would like to thank everyone who has pushed for it. I am both thrilled and honored to be appointed as vice-chair of the subcommittee" - Kira Marie Peter-Hansen MEP.
The subcommittee will, according to a parliament spokesman, delve into the various tax leaks and scandals of recent years.
Paul Tang, a Socialist MEP from the Netherlands, will chair the committee which also has four deputy chairmen: Markus Ferber (EPP, DE); Martin Hlavacek (Renew, CZ); Othmar Karas (EPP, AT) and Kira Marie Peter-Hansen (Greens, DK)
Tang campaigned for tax reforms as a member of the Dutch parliament starting in 2007 and throughout the financial crisis. He has been Parliament’s rapporteur on the Digital Services Tax and the Common Corporate Tax Base and a driving force behind parliament's designation of Cyprus, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, and the Netherlands as corporate tax havens.
