Yahoo – AFP,
November 6, 2017
The European Union's criticism of the Paradise Papers revelations come as it has tried to crack down on EU countries making illegal tax breaks to Apple and Amazon (AFP Photo/EMMANUEL DUNAND) |
Brussels
(AFP) - The European Union on Monday denounced as "shocking"
revelations on the way top companies and dignitaries, including Britain's Queen
Elizabeth II, avoid taxes using offshore wealth hubs.
EU finance
ministers meeting for regular talks in Brussels are due to discuss the practice
on Tuesday after a trove of leaked documents exposed the great lengths the
global elite will go to avert paying a fair tax.
The
findings have emerged as part of the Paradise Papers released late Sunday by
the US-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ),
which was behind the similar Panama Papers made public last year.
"This
new scandal shows once again that some companies and rich individuals are ready
to do anything to not pay tax," said European Economics Affairs
Commissioner Pierre Moscovici ahead of the two days of talks.
"In
light of these shocking revelations, I call on member states to rapidly adopt a
European tax haven blacklist, as well as other dissuasive measures," he
said.
Much as
with the Panama Papers report and LuxLeaks, the latest leak also exposes the
secret ways the rich and multinationals, with the help of accountancy firms,
shift profits across the globe to drastically cut tax.
Perfectly
legal, these methods helped divert billions in profit from the tax man, using
well established wealth hubs such as Luxembourg, the British Virgin Islands and
Switzerland.
EU
competition chief Margrethe Vestager, who has cracked down on EU countries
making illegal tax breaks to Apple and Amazon, lauded the journalists who made
the latest revelations.
"Congratulations
and thanks to ICIJ for all the work done on Paradise Papers. It enables the
work against tax avoidance, for transparency," said Vestager in a tweet.
Despite the
tough talk from Brussels, Europeans have struggled to agree on the basis of an
EU-wide tax haven blacklist.
Britain,
Malta and other smaller EU nations are reluctant to include zero or near-zero
corporate tax rates as one of the criteria to land on the EU's blacklist.
The EU
ministers are due to bridge their differences and draw up an official list of
unwanted tax havens in December, whittling down an initial list of 92 countries
finalised last year.
In the
run-up to that final list, EU officials are sending letters to the 92 countries
asking them to detail their tax policies for evaluation.
Londoners react to news of a massive leak of off-shore tax information, dubbed— AFP news agency (@AFP) November 6, 2017
the Paradise Papers https://t.co/T5tePEiOzf pic.twitter.com/pktnObX1yb
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