A proposal to establish a committee of inquiry in European Parliament to investigate the private tax ruling practices of member states gained the required support of 25 percent of lawmakers on January 14, moving the measure one step closer to adoption.
The question of whether to set up the committee will now go to the leaders of the European Parliament’s political groups. If approved, it will then be voted on by the full parliament.
The proposal is the latest fallout from the “Lux Leaks” disclosures — 548 Luxembourg private tax rulings which were leaked and published on the Internet November 5, 2014, revealing that Luxembourg was complicit in MNE tax avoidance. The European Commission has said it would investigate these private tax rulings for potential state aid violations.
In addition to investigating the EU States’ private tax ruling practices, the new committee would “assess the [European] Commission’s breach of its duty set out in article 108 TFEU to keep under constant review all systems of aid existing in Member States.” The committee would prepare an interim report to parliament within 6 months of starting its work, and present its final report within 12 months.
The Green Party, which spearheaded the initiative, said that the proposal received cross-political support from all parliamentary groups, receiving backing from more than the required 188 lawmakers.
Greens/EFA co-president Philippe Lamberts said that forming an inquiry committee would be the “most appropriate and significant tool available to the European Parliament to investigate the Luxembourg Leaks revelations and ensure a comprehensive response at EU level.
“The European Parliament and its president must now move swiftly and take the relevant steps to ensure the committee is set up, so no more time is lost,” Lamberts said.
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