This own-initiative report is a response to the Commission's Action Plan on tax fraud and tax evasion and its two recommendations to member states on aggressive tax planning and promotion of good governance in tax matters.
S&D Rapporteur highlights that an estimated trillion euro of public money is lost due to tax fraud and tax avoidance every year in the EU, and proposes concrete actions to counter this damaging development and to halve this tax gap by 2020.
The S&D Group calls for the Commission to come forward with a legislative proposal on a clear definition and common set of criteria to identify tax havens, together with a public European black list of tax havens by 31 December 2014.
We also call on the Commission to propose that the competent authorities suspend or revoke the banking licences of financial institutions and financial advisers if they assist in tax fraud.
The Commission should furthermore refrain from granting EU funding and member states should refrain from giving access to state aid or to public procurement to these companies.