German Greens MEP Sven Giegold has written an pen letter to the EU residency called for an end to the “German blockade of tax transparency.”
The letter, seen by this website, reads, “We can no longer afford tax dumping in the interest of large companies in Europe. Public funds are and will remain heavily strained through the corona crisis. It would be easy to wash billions of fair taxes into the coffers of EU member states with the help of binding public tax transparency for large companies.
“Last year, in the final Council vote on the European Commission’s proposal on country-by-country reporting, Germany’s government prevented the necessary qualified majority. Now, the German EU Council Presidency itself has the task of seeking a majority as an honest broker. We can no longer afford the tax blockade of the German government in Brussels! The many small and medium-sized enterprises hit by the coronavirus crisis also need us to put an end to unfair tax competition by large companies using international tax tricks.
“That is why I wrote to the relevant Ministers Scholz, Altmaier and Lambrecht together with my colleague, the Greens’ spokeswoman for financial policy in the Bundestag (see below). The German Presidency of the Council of the European Union is finally to do its job for tax justice in the interests of all taxpayers.”
“What has long been working for large banks must become normal for all groups: public tax transparency country by country. Then tax dumping for large corporates gets much more difficult.”
The MEP adds, “More than 78,000 citizens are already supporting this demand. I am delighted to receive further signatures.”
