Reacting to the decision of the Competitiveness Council, to start negotiations with the European Parliament on public country-by-country reporting (pCBCR), the Socialists and Democrats Group set out their priorities for the file.

Ibán García del Blanco, S&D MEP and Parliament negotiator on the public CBCR file, said:

“After four years of stalemate and deadlock, the Portuguese presidency today engineered a breakthrough for tax justice. Finally, EU governments will soon be ready to start negotiations with the European Parliament on public-country-by-country reporting, which will oblige big multinationals to disclose where they make their profits and where they pay their taxes.

“The latest OpenLux scandal has been a sad reminder that more transparency is needed to effectively fight tax evasion and profit shifting. We want to make all large multinationals say what they pay.”

Evelyn Regner, S&D MEP and Parliament negotiator on the public CBCR file, said:

“We are ready to start negotiations with EU ministers to deliver on this crucial tool in the fight against tax evasion and tax avoidance. Our goal is a public country-by-country reporting that ensures meaningful financial transparency. Therefore, we want companies to disclose information in all countries they operate in, both in the EU and in third countries. To turn public country-by-country reporting into a sharp weapon against tax crimes, we want to oblige multinationals to reveal the number of all full-time employees, fixed assets and capital, net turnover, all profits and losses, as well as subsidies received by governments.

“As governments are helping companies out with public money to cope with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, tax payers have more than ever the right to know which big multinationals are playing fair and which are free-riding.”