Will tax transparency of multinational corporations really take place in the European Union (EU)? In February, after a three-year institutional breakdown, member states were forced to publish large European companies based in Europe on a draft directive, each year on important financial data, by country: turnover, profit, tax paid …

This has prompted many NGOs and MEPs by 2022 or 2023 to see if these winners of globalization are actually paying their share of the tax and making a profit wherever their markets are.

But a “blank” note – unsigned – extended to the permanent representation of member states in Brussels and was obtained. The world, Will disrupt the game. This note will be supported by a number of member states, the most important of which is France, which proposes to amend the plan in two respects, however, is crucial.

It is far from the mind of the legislator

First, these economic data will certainly be published country by country for all inter-European activities, but only in the total form of activities outside the EU, with the exception of a small list of non-cooperative tax systems. Companies, then, have the option of postponing the publication of this data for up to six years, by discrediting it within the framework of a security system, for example to protect contracts or to develop new activities.

This is a significant change compared to the repeated positions of Brussels and the European Parliament in favor of greater transparency, which will significantly reduce future liabilities for multinational companies with a turnover of 7 750 million. Business is far from the mind. Member of the Legislature. In fact, the draft proposal was made in response to the revelations of the 2014 “Lux Leaks” and the 2016 “Panama Papers” about international tax evasion.

Highly decided, this post should be discussed among Europeans these days, while many action meetings on the subject take place within the framework of the trinity – these three-way discussions that bring the European Parliament, the Commission and the Council together. Of the European Union. Although it requires only a qualified majority, support for the draft proposal remains weak: eight countries, including Ireland, Luxembourg and Malta, are embroiled in opposition to the text.

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