Newsletter Issue 2 - September / December 2018

Dear reader,

As 2018 is coming to an end, I would like to express a few words about the active work carried out by the TAX3 Committee in the last 3 months, and to show the progress we have achieved in our fight against money- laundering, tax evasion and tax avoidance.

A wide range of hearings were held, notably on the third country dimension in the fight against money laundering, tax fraud and evasion with particular focus on the impact of and the recent developments in Switzerland. The issue of the black and grey lists of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions was a core theme in the exchange of views with Mrs Lapecorella, Chair of the In this edition... Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation. I was pleased to see her willingness to discuss with the the way the EU tackles "The third country dimension in the fight against harmful tax measures within the EU. Although things are moving in the right direction, the progress is not yet as swift nor as substantial as we would like tax crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance” it to be. Nevertheless, I want to recognise the significant progress made by the Council on this matter, particularly in terms of transparency. "Relations with Switzerland in Tax Matters and the fight against Money Laundering" Our Committee also held hearings on the risks associated with the issuing of Golden Visas, the use of free ports, specific economic zones and letterbox companies. Based on several studies provided by the EPRS services, we Study on "VAT Fraud: Economic impact, learned that these mechanisms need to be carefully monitored on a challenges and policy issues" European level, as they might entail risks leading to money laundering and tax fraud. Exchange of views with Fabrizia Lapecorella Recent scandals have also highlighted the risks posed by letterbox companies, which Danske Bank and ING both recognise as a common "Golden Visas and other Tax Privileges" vector facilitating fraudulent activities. Thanks to the revelations provided by whistle-blower, Mr Wilkinson, we gathered insight into how EUR 200 billion TAX3/ECON Joint exchange of views with were laundered through the Estonian branch of Danske Bank. A key conclusion from this hearing is that rules on banking supervision need to be strengthened at Union level. Without coordination, money launderers will always win. "Combatting Money Laundering in the EU Banking Sector" Our committee has been following the news very closely over the past few months. Notably, we had a lively exchange of views with French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, on how the EU could create a level-playing field in Fact-finding mission to Isle of Man an increasingly digitalised world. Based on our fruitful exchange, I remain hopeful that the Council will soon arrive to a solution to ensure a fairer “Cum Ex scandal: financial crime and the taxation. loopholes in the current legal framework” As the Cum-Ex scandal made headlines in the European press, we decided to organise a joint hearing with the ECON Committee as to investigate how Presentation of the TAX3 Draft report billions of EUR were defrauded over the past years. As the panel made clear, this kind of fraud stems mostly from the lack of cooperation between national tax authorities. Exchange of views with Commissioner Finally, the hearing with Google, Facebook and Kering highlighted the difficulties of defining the place where value is created. International tax "Agressive Tax Planning Schemes within the rules have to be reviewed on a global level. We also had a very interesting exchange of views with Commissioners Moscovici and Jourova, in order to European Union" monitor the state of play of implementation of recommendations made by the European Parliament in the last 4 years. "Who refused to participate in TAX hearing and missions?" I wish you a peaceful end of the year and a Merry Christmas.

Petr Ježek Chair of the TAX3 Committee

TAX3 Special Committee Newsletter - Issue 2

Public hearing on “The third country dimension in the fight against tax crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance”

On 26 September, after the summer recess, the Committee began its work by holding a public hearing on “The third country dimension in the fight against tax crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance.”

Dame Margaret Hodge reflected on the efforts of the UK to obtain better transparency on the ownership of firms based in the UK. Ms Hodge emphasised that despite the UK threats to lower its tax regime after Brexit, such a measure would be extremely difficult to implement in reality. She called Members of the Committee to closely monitor the negotiations of the FTA agreement between the EU and the UK, to ensure that taxation is addressed.

EURODAD highlighted the two main issues within the international tax system - financial secrecy and the use of tax havens for profit shifting, adding that there is a need for an update and an enlargement of transfer pricing rules, as well as the creation of the common corporate tax base by the EU.

DG TRADE representative presented on the current relationship between EU trade policies, the fight against money laundering and tax evasion with third countries, noting that there are provisions that deal with tax evasion in FTAs. However, she stressed that the EU cannot be pulling all the work by itself - an involvement of third countries' governments is required. Moreover, a representative from Action Aid Denmark recommended that the OECD model is less favourable for poor countries, when compared to the UN model.

A UN expert highlighted that the biggest challenge facing the development of effective tax administration in third countries is the general lack of resources.

Members of the Committee raised the case of certain multinationals moving their offices to the UK after Brexit as a possible proof that the UK would be pressured to become less collaborative on tax matters. Fears were voiced that the UK would become an even more attractive destination for money laundering after Brexit.

Further information:

TAX3 public hearing on "Third country dimension in the Fight against Tax crimes, Tax Evasion & Tax Avoidance"

Public hearing on “Relations with Switzerland in Tax Matters and the fight against Money Laundering”

On October 1st, the Committee discussed the topic of tax cooperation between Switzerland and the EU.

A representative of the Commission explained that it is too early to assess the recent evolution of the tax cooperation between the EU and Switzerland, when referring to the agreement for exchange of information. The agreement came into force in 2017, with the first information exchange carried out in September 2018.

TAX3 Special Committee Newsletter - Issue 2

When talking about the Code of Conduct on harmful taxation, he noted that the latter is only binding on the EU Member States, however, the work to extend its application to countries such as Lichtenstein and Switzerland has begun. The agreement to abolish five harmful tax regimes, which were considered negative for the development of a level playing field was made in 2014. Yet, the referendum in 2017 has shown that Swiss citizens are against the change.

The whistle-blower Mr Elmer noted that there are no Swiss laws that protect whistle-blowers; in contrast, the laws are made to protect the industry through a variety of means - turning down investigations at an early stage, little to no punishment to white-collar criminals, retaliating against whistle-blowers, and very tough anti-libel laws.

Mr Frank, an expert on money laundering, noted that Switzerland is still extremely protective of its banking secrecy, and is currently working on cultivating its cryptocurrencies central hub, while setting a very tough environment for whistle-blowers through social and legal pressure. He is sure that Switzerland should not be in the so-called grey list, but the black one, since he is sure that it “remains the mother of all tax havens”.

Members insisted on a better cooperation with Switzerland, since the current state is not satisfactory.

Further information:

TAX3 public hearing on "Relations with Switzerland in tax matters and the fight against money laundering"

Study on "VAT Fraud: economic impact, challenges and policy issues”

On 10 October, the TAX3 Committee held a presentation of the study on “VAT Fraud: economic impact, challenges and policy issues”.

Ms Lamensch presented the study stressing that the main issue as regards VAT fraud is a massive undervaluation to avoid paying a correct amount of VAT. The recently proposed definitive regime will remove the VAT exemption for ‘’non-certified taxpayers” and will therefore reduce the risk of carousel fraud, while not eliminating it fully as other types of fraud could appear.

Ms Lamensch emphasised the importance of establishing a trusting relationship between the Member States, in order to effectively tackle VAT fraud. She elaborated on the idea of using new technologies to fight VAT fraud, suggesting that more money should be invested into bettering the data collection and tracking systems.

Further information:

Study on "VAT fraud: economic impact, challenges and policy issues"

Exchange of views with Fabrizia Lapecorella, Chair of the Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation

On October 10th 2018 Ms Lapecorella gave a presentation on the work that the Group has been carrying out until now. The Group has been working on listing non-cooperative jurisdictions; however, Ms Lapecorella suggested that this exercise should not be seen as a blacklisting, but rather as an instrument to encourage changes in third countries to improve their harmful tax practices.

Ms Lapecorella noted that the Group has analysed 455 preferential regimes within the EU Member States, in order to discover potential aggressive tax measures. 131 of the analysed regimes have been deemed harmful and have been rolled up or are in process of so being.

TAX3 Special Committee Newsletter - Issue 2

The concerns were raised by the Members about the exclusion of the “0 per cent tax rate” as automatically prompting the inclusion of the jurisdiction in question on the black or grey lists. Ms Lapecorella replied that it was a decision of the Council. The speaker noted that tax amnesties are a ‘nasty’ and dangerous practice; however, the Code of Conduct does not cover it by its scope, as it does not address personal taxation matters.

Further information:

Exchange of views with Ms Lapecorella, Chair of the Conduct Group (Business Taxation)

Public hearing on “Golden Visas and other Tax Privileges”

On 15 October, the Committee held a public hearing on “Golden Visas and other Tax Privileges”.

The first panel dealt with money-laundering risks linked to “golden visa” schemes, which are set up by a number Member States. According to the OECD, the schemes were being misused to undermine the information exchange due diligence procedures. It has analysed over one hundred schemes, twenty one of which were considered to have in place a high- risk golden visa schemes, including two in Cyprus and two in Malta. These schemes impose a low income tax rate of less than 10% on offshore financial assets and do not have requirements of physical presence of at least 90 days in the jurisdiction of the scheme.

Global Witness presented a study, conducted together with Transparency International. With a Member State passport, individuals are provided with permanent security and protection, the possibility of a new bank account and potentially a new business, while avoiding having red flags on their name. Global Witness emphasised the need of a harmonised EU approach on tackling the issue, encouraging the to take the initiative and establish EU standards

The second panel was dedicated to the risks and benefits for the EU from free ports and Special Economic Zones (SEZ). A representative from DG DEVCO presented the partnership in which the European Commission is participating together with the , explaining that the drastic increase in popularity of SEZs is due to the subsidized utilities and corporate tax exemptions, proximity to large markets and pre-existing industrial base.

TAX3 Special Committee Newsletter - Issue 2

A financial crime expert noted that free ports are valued for their confidentiality, and although they are not necessarily negative, they might imply some risks, such as money laundering and financial crimes, which can be stopped through increased implementation and enforcement of rules, as well as prosecution of criminals. Mr Carr advocated for better financing of FIUs.

A journalist has been investigating free ports for a number of years, particularly the free port of Luxembourg. From his experience, the Freeport is an extremely secretive place with no information about the clients, their assets stored therein and their value. Mr Grasser emphasised that it has proved difficult to investigate the Freeport, he received threats and has been told to stop his investigation.

Further information:

Public hearing on "Golden visas and other national schemes providing tax privileges"

Workshop on “Golden Visas, Free Ports, and Shell Companies in the EU”

On 18th October, the EPRS presented its studies to the TAX3 Committee.

In the first panel, Ms Scherrer presented the issue of golden visas and passports, highlighting the countries that possess the highest risk with the lowest requirements and highest advantages. Such schemes have impacts on tax transparency, money laundering and corruption. The suggestion on how to improve the current situation is for the Commission to integrate specific recommendations on prudential regulations.

Members of the Committee enquired about the profitability of these schemes, and the reply is that it is undocumented, however, the overall direct inflow into Member States economy through investments is EUR 9.2 billion. It has also been found that such schemes affect sectors such as real estate, and they do not benefit citizens.

During the Second Panel, Mr Korver identified the risks that free ports might possess. In the wake of an increasing attention towards breaking the bank secrecy and tax evasion by governments, wealthy individuals are starting to invest their money into art and antiques. Free ports are gaining popularity due to a number of reasons- they allow to store expensive art without paying import/export tax and making transactions without attracting the attention of regulators and tax authorities. Mr Korver called on introducing further tools to control these establishments, the need for ensuring AML and customs coordination and the need for a better control over the art market.

The Third panel focused on shell companies, including the differentiation of three types of shell companies. Ms Ivana Kiendl Krišto and Ms Elodie Thirion noted that not all shell companies bear risks, because of them being a shell company. Risk derives from a misuse, which arises out of anonymity (money laundering, corruption, bribery), treaty abuse (SPEs treaty shopping), and circumvention of posting of the workers directive (letter box companies). A variety of laws is currently in progress of implementation, which will aim to tackle risks arising out of shell companies. For instance, through the 4th and 5th Anti-Money Laundering Directive (AMLD), the EU is lifting anonymity off shell companies.

Further information:

EPRS Presentation of studies on Golden Visas, Freeports and Shell Companies

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TAX3/ECON Joint exchange of views with the French Minister for Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire

During the October Plenary session the French Minister of Economy and Finance, Bruno Le Maire participated in the exchange of views on digital taxation.

Mr Le Maire highlighted that it is time “to decide whether we should stop the existing situation where digital giants pay 14 percentage points less in tax than other companies.” He further added that it cannot be the rule in Europe that the more profit a company makes, the less it is taxed, encouraging the EU to change the rules applicable to digital taxation.

Bruno Le Maire stressed that nowadays data is the most valuable asset and is the “true wealth”. If the EU does not tax it, it is going to be a very big loss. Further adding that it is important to make a choice, whether to protect the EU values or to go along with those presented by others. He questioned whether the role of the EU is just to provide a free area of trade or to actually benefit from it.

Further information:

ECON/TAX3 Exchange of views with Bruno Le Maire, Minister for Economy and Finance

Public hearing on “Combatting Money Laundering in the EU Banking Sector”

On 21st of November, the Committee focused on the recent case of Danske Bank and ING’s Money Laundering allegations.

During the First Panel, Mr Wilkinson, the Danske Bank whistle blower mentioned that at least ten more banks were involved in the case, from at least eight EU Member States with around EUR 200 billion laundered. The speaker was critical of the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (FSA), which has not only failed to react to the money laundering allegations, but has also helped and protected Danske Bank.

Mr Wilkinson addressed the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) he had to sign while leaving the Bank, noting that it did not allow him to disclose any information, even to law enforcement authorities.

He notably suggested banning NDAs, establishing a new supervision model that removes home country bias.

TAX3 Special Committee Newsletter - Issue 2

Mr Wilkinson’s counsel, Mr Kohn further emphasised the importance of better protecting whistle-blowers. He stated that the EU should seek inspiration of USA laws to better protect whistle-blowers. He also listed the best practices that can help better protect whistle- blowers - the creation of a government agency, such as a Whistle-blower office, granting the right of confidentiality to the whistle- blowers, compensating whistle-blowers for the quality of the information provided, as well as protection against retaliation and prohibition of abusive NDAs.

In the Second Panel, Mr van Wassenaer stressed that ING is giving its highest priority to strengthen compliance with anti-money laundering rules. ING has implemented new KYC enhancement programme. The bank has increased the number of employees working on compliance-related matters, and has established a global KYC centre.

The interim CEO of Danske Bank, Mr Nielsen, explained that its Estonian branch operated too autonomously. The bank accepted 15,000 clients without proper due diligence procedure, which led to an approximate flow of 200 billion euro through the branch. Danske Estonia was not integrated into the Danske Bank IT platform, which it made it difficult to monitor the activities of the branch, whilst red flags were not properly understood on a group level.

42 employees from the Estonian branch were reported to the authorities, eight were reported to the police. Danske Bank has closed down the non-resident portfolio in Estonia, and now focuses on core markets, servicing primarily customers that have a business known to the bank.

Ms Arffman spoke on behalf of Swedish Bankers’ Association (SBA), introducing the support it provides to banks in tackling money laundering. Ms Arffman claimed that the financial sector could prevent money laundering by setting up internal systems and procedures but that it is not the task of the financial sector to undertake the role of supervisor, police or prosecutor.

In the third panel the representative of the European Banking Authority (EBA) regretted that EBA’s powers are limited when it comes to enforcement of its standards and guidelines - it does not supervise individual financial institutions, nor does it have the legal tools to enforce compliance.

EBA is currently looking into a number of potential violations of Union laws. At present, several ongoing investigations are looking into the cases of Latvia, Denmark and Estonia. EBA is working together with EIOPA and ESMA to foster common approach to risk based AML supervision under the fourth AMLD.

Representatives from DG JUST and DG FISMA elaborated on the “Reflection paper on possible elements on a Roadmap for seamless cooperation between AML and Prudential Supervisors in the EU”. They also elaborated on the Commission’s proposal presented in September 2018 to amend the current ESAs, to provide EBA with more powers to make sure there is an effective AML supervision.

Further information:

Public hearing on “Combatting Money-Laundering in the EU Banking system”

Fact-finding mission to the Isle of Man

From 22 to 23 of November 2018, TAX3 Committee travelled on a Mission to the Isle of Man. The Committee met with both public sector and private companies to learn more about the fight against money laundering, tax evasion and avoidance on the Isle of Man.

During its Mission, the Committee came to the following conclusions:

According to the local government, the Manx economy is based on ten sectors of economic activity: the financial and e-gaming sectors represent 50% of the revenue.

One problem of international taxation is the beneficial ownership avoidance created by the financial and tax industry.

The Manx law is largely aligned with international standards but authorities confirm that they will not go beyond these in order to remain competitive.

The “non-charitable purpose trust” (NCPT) can be seen as a mean to hide UBO information. This instrument has an ambiguous purpose.

TAX3 Special Committee Newsletter - Issue 2

On VAT of aircrafts, the Manx authorities estimated that there is no infringement of any rules, as the Isle of Man controls and guarantees that the aircraft is used for business purposes.

Since 2008, the banking industry has dramatically changed. There are less licenses now that in 2008 but there has been no decrease of deposits since implementation of the Common Reporting Standard.

On UBO transparency, UBO information is available to fiduciaries who have to communicate it upon request to authorities.

With regard to the use of letterbox companies, the Manx authorities sustained that they are amending their legislation to ensure that any company established in the island fulfils the “economic substance” requirements. A new law should be introduced by March and comply with the EU standards.

Further information:

TAX3 Mission to the Isle of Man

Joint ECON/TAX3 public hearing on the “Cum Ex scandal: financial crime and the loopholes in the current legal framework"

On 26 November, the TAX3 Committee focused on the recent publication of the CumEx files, which revealed that over EUR 55 billion have been scammed from European Governments.

Mr Schick, a representative from the German Bundestag noted that dividend stripping began in 1990s and ever since the schemes used in the fraud have mutated a lot, reaching an extremely complex level. He further emphasised that it should not be presumed that the laws adopted in to stop CumEx in 2011 and Cum-Cum in 2016 have stopped the fraudulent schemes. He noted that the role of whistle-blowers in the case was essential.

Prof. Spengel stressed that these issues do not necessarily stem from legal loopholes, but rather from a technical failure of the system, which has been largely abused. He further added that there is a pressing need for strengthening co-operation between EU Member States, especially with regards to data sharing and cooperation between law enforcement authorities.

Mr Schröm and Mr Salewski, both journalists, noted that at least twelve countries (FR, ES, BE, IT, NL, NO, SE, FI, DK, CH, AT) were involved in the scandal, and the total losses given are a conservative calculation, as there is no full data available. In Germany, Cum-Ex is no longer possible, however, according to Mr Schröm, these types of scheme have grown into a more complex and aggressive types in Germany.

Further information:

Public hearing on "Cum-Ex scandal: financial crime and the loopholes in the current legal framework"

TAX3 Special Committee Newsletter - Issue 2

Presentation of the TAX3 draft report

On 27 November the two TAX3 co-rapporteurs, Ludek Niedermayer (EPP) and Jeppe Kofod (S&D) presented their report to the Committee.

The Members of the Committee overall provided positive feedback on the Draft Report. The co-rapporteurs noted that the European Parliament has contributed greatly to fighting money laundering, tax avoidance and financial crimes in the last 5 years. They, however, regretted a lack of cooperation when it comes to solving issues such as Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB). The Members of the Committee gave a generally positive response to the draft report, too. They however emphasised the importance of making reference to urgency of fighting against organised crime, which is costing Member States and taxpayers a lot of money. Several members also stressed on the need to ensure that the report delivers a powerful message, by using more assertive language while recalling recommendations from the past reports of the PANA, TAX1 and TAX2 reports, which have not yet been fulfilled by Member States.

The report will be open for amendments in the Committee, the deadline for which is set at 17 December 2018. The Committee will vote on the report on 27 February 2019.

Ludek Niedermayer Jeppe Kofod Co-Rapporteur (EPP) Co-rapporteur (S&D)

Further information:

Information page on TAX3 Report

Exchange of views with Commissioner Pierre Moscovici

On 27 November, the Members of the TAX3 Committee had an exchange of views with Pierre Moscovici, Member of the European Commission responsible for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs.

Pierre Moscovici’s mandate has been focusing on providing more transparency and fairer taxation. Moscovici also stressed on the fact that more has been done in the area of taxation in the past five years than in the past 20 years that preceded. To questions related to CCCTB by the Members, the Commissioner responded that his cabinet is currently working to finalise the technical work together with the Council, His main objective is to be able to conclude and leave his successor the file that would be ready for political discussion. Commissioner Moscovici remains hopeful that the unanimity role in Council on taxation matters will soon be switched to the ordinary legislative procedure in order to achieve swift progress in this area at Union level.

Further information:

Exchange of views with Commissioner Pierre Moscovici

TAX3 Special Committee Newsletter - Issue 2

Public hearing on “Aggressive Tax Planning Schemes within the European Union”

Kering, Google and Facebook were present in this hearing of 27 November to explain their tax planning strategy.

Ms Maddaloni explained on behalf of Kering group that the company fully complies with national and EU legislation, as well as international recommendations, such as BEPS from the OECD. She stated that Kering pays its royalties in full respect of rules on transfer pricing, and it is fully documented entity by entity. Members of the Committee were not, however convinced by the quality of her answers when it came to understanding whether Kering was based in Switzerland for fiscal reasons.

In their answers to the Members of the Committee, Mr Cohen and Mr Lee, who spoke on behalf of Google and Facebook respectively, advocated for a simpler and more coherent international tax system, supporting multilateral approach to new tax rules. Over the past ten years Google’s effective tax rate has been of 26%, which is above 23.7% average across the OECD States. As they explained, round 86% of the tax is paid in the US, due to it being the place where value is created (development of algorithm) while the remaining taxes are paid in countries where Google has subsidiaries.

Mr Lee Facebook also argued that it becomes increasingly more difficult to distinguish the digital economy from the rest of the economy when it comes to tax purposes. He also highlighted that digital economy is becoming an economy in itself.

Sophie Maddaloni Adam Cohen Alan Lee Tax Director at the Kering Group Head of Economic Policy, EMEA, Google Head of Global Tax Policy, Facebook

A lively discussion with Members followed, where Google’s double structure of Ireland and Bermuda was questioned. According to Google, this structure will be phased out in two years as it will be no longer needed with the new US Tax Reform. At questions about Kering’s choice to establish its LGI subsidiary in Switzerland, where 70% of the group’s profits are booked, Kering replied that, although goods are produced in or Italy, the real operational activity of logistics and distributions are made in LGI as she explained that Switzerland offers several advantages in terms of location and safety of stocks.

Further information:

Public hearing on "Alleged aggressive tax planning schemes within the EU"

“Who refused to participate in TAX3 hearings and missions?"

The Committee has decided to name people and firms that have refused to participate and cooperate with the Committee. Appleby has rejected invitations by the Committee twice; even when the Committee was on the mission to the Isle of Man, where the firm has a substantial amount of employees, Appleby found offered time for the meeting ‘inconvenient’, which has amounted to a refusal of invitation. The Committee has previously invited Appleby to participate in a public hearing on “Lessons Learnt in Paradise Papers”, where it has rejected the invitation again; Baker McKenzie rejected two invitations to participate in that hearing.

The Director of the Portuguese Immigration and Border Service also rejected an invitation to attend a public hearing on golden visas and other national schemes providing tax privileges. The CEO of Le Freeport Luxembourg also refused to participate in the above-mentioned hearing, which aimed to consider the effect on the EU of free ports and special economic zones.

TAX3 Special Committee Newsletter - Issue 2

Previously, Mr Goranov, Bulgarian Finance Minister and Chair of ECOFIN Council, as well as Monika Panayotova, Deputy Minister of the Bulgarian Presidency of the Council of the EU refused to take part in a meeting organised by the Committee. Mr Goranov also refused to participate in another public hearing on the “fight against harmful tax practices within the European Union and abroad”.

Finally, prior to its mission to Latvia, the Committee held a hearing on “combatting of money Laundering in the EU banking system” and had invited representatives of the ABLV Bank, as well as representatives of Pilatus Bank. Whilst the CEO of ABLV Bank has confirmed his inability to attend due to a busy schedule, no answer was received from Pilatus Bank.

Further information:

State of play on “Who refused to participate in hearing/delegation and why?”

Upcoming TAX3 meetings and fact-finding mission

Public hearing on "Alleged financial crimes, tax evasion and tax avoidance in Slovakia", 24 January

Public hearing on “Evaluation of the tax gap”, 24 January

Public hearing on "Money laundering cases involving Russian individuals and their effect on the EU", 29 January

Consideration of amendments to the TAX3 draft report, 29 January

Public hearing on the Deutsche Bank case, 4 February (tbc)

Public hearing on "Impact of tax evasion and money laundering on local real estate markets, in particular in European cities", 5 February (tbc)

Fact-finding mission to Estonia and Denmark, 6 to 8 February

ECON/TAX3 joint exchange of views with National Parliaments, 18 or 19 February

Exchange of views with , Member of the European Commission responsible for Competition, 19 February

Exchange of views with the Spanish Minister for the Treasury, Ms María Jesús Montero, 19 February

Vote on final report in TAX3 Committee, 27 February

Useful links

Information page on TAX3 Report Presentations, speeches and replies to questionnaires from hearings Transcriptions of the meetings and press releases Official letters (Invitation letters, letters related to request of request of documents) Coordinators' decisions TAX3 hearings, workshops and missions Supporting analyses (Studies, briefings, fact sheets) Committee mandate (powers, numerical strength and term of office) as adopted by the European Parliament on 1.03.2018 List of members of the TAX3 Committee

For further links, please visit the TAX3 website. TAX3 Special Committee Newsletter - Issue 2

TAX3 Bureau, Coordinators, Co-Rapporteurs and Shadow-Rapporteurs

Bureau: Chair: Petr Ježek (ALDE) 1st Vice-Chair: Roberts Zile (ECR) 2nd Vice-Chair: Eva Joly (Greens/EFA) 3rd Vice-Chair: Esther De Lange (EPP) 4th Vice-Chair: Ana Gomes (S&D)

Coordinators: Dariusz Rosati (EPP Coordinator) Tom Vandenkendelaere (EPP Deputy Coordinator) Peter Simon (S&D Coordinator) Monica Macovei (ECR Coordinator) Nils Torvalds (ALDE Coordinator) Martin Schirdewan (GUE/NGL Coordinator) Sven Giegold (Greens/EFA Coordinator) David Coburn (EFDD Coordinator) Mario Borghezio (ENF Coordinator)

Co-Rapporteurs: Ludek Niedermayer (EPP) Jeppe Kofod (S&D)

Shadow-Rapporteurs: Roberts Zile (ECR) Wolf Klinz (ALDE) Miguel Urbán Crespo (GUE/NGL) Molly Scott Cato (Greens/EFA) ...... (EFDD) Mario Borghezio (ENF)

TAX3 Special Committee Newsletter - Issue 2

Contacts and suggestions

For further information, please contact [email protected] or visit the TAX3 website.

Head of Secretariat: Assistants: Benoit Wets Iban Cuadrat Seix

Administrators: Odila Esposito Gabriel Alvarez Recarte Cinti Torrens Bermo (Committee assistant)

Anastasija Piazenko (Trainee)

Cecile Remeur

Francisco M. Ruiz-Risueño

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