MPs of Europe unite: Listen up big biz, air your tax deals in public

European MPs have signed an open letter that presses governments across the Continent to publish their complex tax agreements with multinational companies on a country-by-country basis. The missive follows HMRC's £130m tax deal with Google on a decade’s worth of profits made in the UK over ten years. By way of contrast, French …

[Anonymous Coward]

Bad move

"...and retained earnings in each jurisdiction they are based..."

Cool, so each country outside the EU can immediately see how much they need to offer each company in order to entice them away from the EU..... real smart.

And companies that do their deals in Caymans can see how much their EU competitors are paying, but the EU company can't see the same of the Caymans lot. Because while this "public" disclosure would happen in the EU, it wouldn't happen in third party countries outside the EU.

Better to keep it secret and revealed only to tax authorities in confidence, since its commercially sensitive info.

"Meg Hillier MP, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, said:..."

And what has a UK body got to do with the EU?? If you want transparency you can always force UK companies to disclose their tax affairs with the inland revenue publicly. EU is not your business now.

[Aristotles slow and dimwitted horse]

Re: Bad move

Yes, yes, yes... rant, rant, rant.

But you know what I REALLY thought while reading your post... "blah blah blah".

There will always be the scared vested interests trying to forge reasons as to why these changes shouldn't happen. Unfortunately they have no chance as the tide is well and truly turning.

As to your final comment as to the EU not being our business now, I shall paraphrase the words of another greater leader than I... Emperor Palpatine in fact. As spoken in Return of the Jedi "Oh no, my young Jedi. You will find that you are mistaken... about a great many things."

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Bad move

@"scared vested interests trying to forge reasons"

EU Corp: "We pay x% of Y in tax in Z and m% of W in country Q and....".

Foreign corp: "not telling, but thanks for all the secret info".

There, dumbed it down for you.

"Emperor Palpatine in fact. As spoken in Return of the Jedi.." yeh, blah blah blah... whatever. You didn't address the issue or my fix for the issue.... to hand that data to the tax authorities, rather than publish it for competitors. But hey force be with you and all that.

[Doctor Syntax]

Re: Bad move

"And what has a UK body got to do with the EU?"

I think you must have been reading a different article. The one I read was about the finance committees of individual European nations. What was yours about?

[John Brown (no body)]

Re: Bad move

"And what has a UK body got to do with the EU??"

For at least the next two years, just as much as any other member countries governmental bodies.

[Anonymous Coward]

How about a zero percent corporation tax rate, and making VAT apply to all goods and services with an additional 2-5% on top to make up the difference. Now that's unavoidably transparent - literally.

TAKE THE GAME AWAY.

[Buzzword]

Yeah, because nobody ever tried to evade VAT.

[Pascal Monett]

Of course not.

Definitely not UBER.

Absolutely not UBER.

[Anonymous Coward]

"How about a zero percent corporation tax rate, and making VAT apply to all goods and services with an additional 2-5% on top to make up the difference. Now that's unavoidably transparent - literally.

TAKE THE GAME AWAY."

Because VAT is a TAX that _consumers_ pay, not corporations, you retard.

Sheesh how many times does this have to be said before it get through people's skulls.

[Paul Garrish]

And who do you think the corporations pass that tax bill onto? Consumers DUH!

[Doctor Syntax]

"And who do you think the corporations pass that tax bill onto? Consumers DUH!"

And how many times does that have to be said before it gets through people's skulls?