European Parliament members have criticised an EU body involved in the fight against tax evasion.
The criticism, fired at the Council and Ministers of Finance (CMF), came in an “urgent debate” on Tuesday prompted by the Paradise Papers leak.
MEPs said the CMF was “not stepping up to the mark” in the battle against tax avoidance.
An official statement said that MEPs from across the political spectrum “lamented the sharp practices used by the super-rich and multinationals to hide their wealth”, as revealed in leaks including the Paradise Papers and Luxleaks.
Pierre Moscovici, the Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, said that the European Commission is close to finalising a list of “non-cooperative tax jurisdictions” – a blacklist of tax havens that is due to be published after the December 5 meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council.
Moscovici warned the EU must make progress otherwise “populists, and the cynics and allies of the tax avoiders” will win in the next European elections in 2019.
*Listen to Funds Europe’s roundtable on BEPS, in association with SGG Group. BEPS is the G20’s major initiative against tax evasion.
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