“Abolish Golden Visa schemes, step up the fight against money laundering, collaborate more closely to fight tax avoidance and tax fraud and update tax regimes to the age of digitalisation. These are the main conclusions the EPP Group draws from the work of the Special Committee on Financial Crimes, Tax Evasion and Tax Avoidance”, according to Luděk Niedermayer MEP and Dariusz Rosati MEP.
The EPP Group has voted in favour of the final report of the Special Committee, concluding 12 months of work. “The Golden Visa and special tax schemes to attract foreign investors pose a security threat to the EU while delivering only marginal or zero economic benefits and devaluating European citizenship”, Parliament’s Co-Rapporteur of the Report Luděk Niedermayer has said.
Dariusz Rosati has pointed out Russia’s role in several scandals investigated by the Special Committee: “Money laundering cases, involving the ING Bank, ABLV Bank, Danske Bank as well as Deutsche Bank were linked to Russian capital or citizens. In addition, the infamous Golden Visa programmes very often benefit Russian oligarchs. Our work in the Committee has proven that Russians and Russia play a disreputable role in tax avoidance, tax evasion and money laundering within the EU”, said Rosati, the EPP Group’s Spokesman in the Special Committee.
In the age of digitalisation, borders no longer apply. Digitalisation makes national solutions to taxation problems inefficient. “The EU has to remain the leader in the global discussion on taxation in the age of digitalisation, where borders no longer apply. Current tax regimes cannot keep up with it. The EU should be actively engaging in the debate on minimum effective taxation currently discussed by the OECD and G20″, Niedermayer concluded.
