The European Parliament has resolved to set up a "special
committee on tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or
effect" to examine practice in the application of EU state aid
and taxation law in relation to tax rulings and similar measures
issued by Member States. The committee, which has 45 members, was
established for an initial period of six months. Such committees
are empowered to examine EU processes, but their recommendations
are not binding.
The committee is being set up in the wake of a series of
investigations launched by the European Commission into tax rulings
for multinational companies in Luxembourg, Ireland, Belgium and the
Netherlands. It will look into tax ruling practices as far back as
1 January 1991, and will review the way the European Commission
treats state aid in member states and the extent to which member
states are transparent about their tax rulings. It will also seek
to ascertain the negative impact of aggressive tax planning on
public finances and formulate recommendations for the future.
However, as noted above, its recommendations are not binding.
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