Luxembourg Leaks

The European Union should set up a police force to investigate tax evasion and financial crime and create a watchdog to counter money-laundering, EU lawmakers said in a report on Wednesday, which accuses seven member states of acting as tax havens.

A black list of tax havens will be available by the end of the year at the request of the EU. Its creation was provoked by the scandalous revelations about the "Panama Papers" 2 or the so-called "Paradise Papers".

The Parliament has approved in first reading changes to the tax code to enhance the effectiveness in administrative collaboration between tax authorities, FOCUS News Agency reported.

The European  Commission proposed on Tuesday to introduce public reporting requirements for the largest companies operating in the EU and in tax havens in a bid to boost tax transparency.

The proposal aims to ensure that multinationals publish each year a report disclosing the profit and the tax accrued and paid in each member state on a country-by-country basis.

The European Commission ordered Belgium on Jan. 11 to recover 700 million euros ($763 million) from 35 large companies in back taxes in the EU executive's biggest move yet to crack down on tax avoidance by multinationals.

The leaders of the world's largest economies remain committed to a goal of lifting their collective output by an additional 2 percent by 2018, they said in a statement on Nov. 16, even though growth remains uneven and weaker than expected globally, as reported by Reuters. 

The European Commission ruled on Oct. 21 that Starbucks and Fiat benefited from illegal tax deals with the Dutch and Luxembourg governments, in cases with major implications for the taxation of multinational companies.

Online retail giant Amazon said on May 26 it has started declaring sales in four European countries which would now be subject to local taxes, a move that could affect other multinationals under EU investigation for possible tax avoidance.   

The European Commission on Wednesday said it held a first orientation debate on possible key actions to ensure a fairer and more transparent approach to taxation in the EU.

The President of the European Commission President, Jean-Claude Juncker, has made the fight against tax evasion and avoidance a top political priority of his Commission.

Istanbul is going through active days because of Turkey?s G-20 presidency. Due to this, G-20 finance ministers and central bank governors were holding meetings in our city.

Before them, International Finance Institute held a conference in Istanbul. In the ?Reinvigorating growth, reducing inequality? session, the focus was ?transparency.?