Amendment No. 17 | Doc. 12894 | 26 April 2012

Promoting an appropriate policy on tax havens

Signatories: Mr Fernand BODEN, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Ms Anne BRASSEUR, Luxembourg, ALDE ; Mr Raphaël COMTE, Switzerland, ALDE ; Mr Joseph FALZON, Malta, EPP/CD ; Ms Doris FIALA, Switzerland, ALDE ; Mr Norbert HAUPERT, Luxembourg, EPP/CD ; Mr Joachim HÖRSTER, Germany, EPP/CD ; Mr Bernard MARQUET, Monaco, ALDE ; Ms Meritxell MATEU PI, Andorra, ALDE ; Ms Lydia MUTSCH, Luxembourg, SOC ; Mr Maximilian REIMANN, Switzerland, ALDE ; Ms Elisabeth SCHNEIDER-SCHNEITER, Switzerland, EPP/CD ; Mr Urs SCHWALLER, Switzerland, EPP/CD

Origin - 2012 - Second part-session

In the draft resolution, before paragraph 1, insert the following paragraph:

"According to the OECD, four key factors are used to determine a tax haven: the fact that a jurisdiction imposes no or only nominal taxes; that it lacks transparency; that there are laws or administrative practices preventing the effective exchange of information; and that there is no requirement for the activity to be substantial."

Explanatory note

The objective of this report is to promote an appropriate policy on tax havens, which is an objective we fully support.

However, nowhere in the draft resolution is there a definition of what is meant by tax haven.

We therefore suggest inserting a definition in the operative part of the draft resolution, based on the four criteria set out by the OECD for determining a tax haven.