New Luxleaks documents show EU naivety to corporate tax dodging

Today a new cache of documents was released by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) detailing more information on how Luxembourg allows multinational companies to dodge tax by granting favorable tax deals when routing profits through the country.

Natalia Alonso, Oxfam’s Deputy Director of Advocacy and Campaigns, said: 

“Another month, another giant tax dodging scandal. The more Luxembourg and other EU countries put benefits for multinational companies before people, the more obvious it becomes that urgent change is desperately needed.

“By continuing to do pretty much nothing, European leaders seem content to allow billions in tax revenue to slip through their fingers. The European Parliament is not up to the challenge either, with most parliamentarians refusing to launch an inquiry committee into a problem that is funneling money away from the public purse.

“We cannot tackle this massive tax dodging problem with the legal tools we’ve currently got. It’s frustrating that just one country can block a European tax reform. The unanimity norm should be scrapped.

“Europe cannot wait any longer. Plans currently in the pipeline to improve tax transparency should be speeded up. EU countries need greater tax base harmonization to avoid companies shifting profits to tax havens. Europe should demonstrate global leadership and tax multinational companies fairly to fund public services essential to people living in poverty both in Europe and across the planet. Corporate tax dodgers must be made to pay their dues.”