Tory MEPs fail to support their Prime Minister to fight tax evasion by multinationals
Originally published by East Midlands Liberal Democrats
East Midlands Lib Dem MEP Bill Newton Dunn welcomed the commitment made by European prime ministers at today's Brussels summit to tackle tax evasion. This follows the call from the European Parliament yesterday for an EU action plan to clamp down on tax havens, fraud and evasion.
Lib Dem MEPs have been at the forefront of efforts to introduce country-by-country reporting, a proposal which would demand that companies publicly disclose their tax arrangements in each country in which they operate, and would therefore help prevent the shunting around of profits in order to minimise tax.
Commenting on today's European Council meeting on tackling tax avoidance, East Midlands Lib Dem MEP Bill Newton Dunn said:
"With the Tories it really seems that the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing. While David Cameron was in Brussels urging more EU cooperation over tax avoidance, East Midlands Conservative MEP Emma McClarkin abstained and so refused to support proposals which would ensure companies pay their fair share in tax."
"We've already seen these rules extended to banks and to the extractive industry. It is now time to see them extended across other sectors so that multinational firms own up and pay up. Bizarrely, Tory MEPs seem to prefer siding with tax avoiders rather than backing their own government."
The Facts
The European Parliament voted yesterday on a report on tackling tax avoidance on which Conservative MEPs either voted against or abstained on a proposal for country-by-country reporting http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A7-2013-162&language=EN
EU leaders met at the European Council today to discuss tax avoidance
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-22607256
In a letter to the European Council President, David Cameron has called for greater country-by-country company reporting as part of efforts to tackle tax avoidance https://www.gov.uk/government/news/pm-letter-to-the-eu-on-tax-evasion