Public country-by-country reporting by multinational enterprises

‘EU Legislation in Progress’ briefings aim to provide Members of the European Parliament with systematic and automatic analysis on all substantial proposals for EU legislation at every stage of the legislative procedure. Each contains an account of the purpose, content and legal aspects of the legislation proposed, in particular analysing what the legislation would change, as well as any previous legislation and the background. An overview of stakeholders’ views is also provided, as well as the opinions of national parliaments and the two advisory committees.

They are all made publicly available for stakeholders and the public.Tax transparency has gained particular importance as a tool in the fight against tax avoidance and tax evasion, particularly in the field of corporate income tax and aggressive tax planning. Cooperation between tax authorities aims at allowing them to obtain information covering the global business of multinational enterprises (MNEs), and progress has already been made in this area.

A further step in tax transparency would be to broaden it by providing publicly available information relating to tax paid at the place where profits are actually made. Public country-by-country reporting (CBCR) is the publication of a defined set of facts and figures by large MNEs, thereby providing the public with a global picture of the taxes MNEs pay on their corporate income.

The legislative proposal from the European Commission is being considered by the European Parliament (EP) and the Council. In the EP, the ECON and JURI committees jointly voted their report on 12 June 2017.

Author: Cécile Remeur

EP: EPRS: Briefing: EU Legislation in Progress http://epthinktank.eu/eu-legislation-in-progress/

ESO: Background information: Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of income tax information by certain undertakings and branches http://www.europeansources.info/record/proposal-for-a-directive-of-the-european-parliament-and-of-the-council-amending-directive-2013-34-eu-as-regards-disclosure-of-income-tax-information-by-certain-undertakings-and-branches/

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