Doc. 12516

2 February 2011

Promoting an appropriate policy on tax-havens

Motion for a resolution

presented by Mr Van der Maelen and others

1.        The wide-scale use of tax havens makes it possible to avoid and evade taxes and as such is an infringement of fiscal justice.

2.        Tax havens permit the illegal flight of capital and corruption by allowing dictators and their political entourages to appropriate billions of dollars from international aid and other sources of public finance and deposit them in secret bank accounts in these places.

3.       The establishment of complex and dubious financial structures that lack transparency encourages the creation of tax havens. Tax havens are therefore also one of the causes of the recent financial crisis.

4.       International organisations such as the United Nations and the OECD, as well as the G20, are attempting to secure better international agreements and stress the need for effective national policies to stem the harmful influence of tax havens.

5.       The Parliamentary Assembly is invited to consider the problem of tax havens and address recommendations to the member states by asking them to produce the outlines of an appropriate policy.

Signed (see overleaf)

Signed ^1:

MAELEN Dirk Van der, Belgium, SOC

AGRAMUNT FONT DE MORA Pedro, Spain, EPP/CD

ANDERSON Donald, United Kingdom, SOC

ÁRNASON Mörđur, Iceland, SOC

AXELSSON Lennart, Sweden, SOC

BARNETT Doris, Germany, SOC

BENTON Joe, United Kingdom, SOC

BRAUN Márton, Hungary, EPP/CD

CARTES IVERN Joan, Andorra, SOC

COËME Guy, Belgium, SOC

CONNARTY Michael, United Kingdom, SOC

CORLĂŢEAN Titus, Romania, SOC

DÍAZ TEJERA Arcadio, Spain, SOC

ELZINGA Tuur, Netherlands, UEL

FLEGO Gvozden Srećko, Croatia, SOC

FRANSSEN Cindy, Belgium, EPP/CD

GOJKOVIĆ Obrad, Montenegro, SOC

GROSS Andreas, Switzerland, SOC

HAUGLI Håkon, Norway, SOC

HOOD Jim, United Kingdom, SOC

KONEČNÝ Albrecht, Austria, SOC

MAHOUX Philippe, Belgium, SOC

MARGARYAN Grigori, Armenia, ALDE

MAURY PASQUIER Liliane, Switzerland, SOC

MENDONÇA MENDES Ana Catarina, Portugal, SOC

MORIAU Patrick, Belgium, SOC

NAGHDALYAN Hermine, Armenia, ALDE

NĂSTASE Adrian, Romania, SOC

OSBORNE Sandra, United Kingdom, SOC

PANŢIRU Tudor, Romania, SOC

RIBA FONT Maria Pilar, Andorra, SOC

ROSEIRA Maria de Belém, Portugal, SOC

SANNEN Ludo, Belgium, SOC

SASI Kimmo, Finland, EPP/CD

SHERIDAN Jim, United Kingdom, SOC

STRIK Tineke, Netherlands, SOC

VERCAMER Stefaan, Belgium, EPP/CD

de VRIES Klaas, Netherlands, SOC

¹        EPP/CD: Group of the European People’s Party

      SOC: Socialist Group

      ALDE: Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe

      EDG: European Democratic Group

      UEL: Group of the Unified European Left

      NR: not registered in a group