About: tax policy
World’s 26 richest own as much as 3.8 billion poorest: Oxfam
Billionaire fortunes increased by 12% a day in 2018, while the 3.8 billion poorest people saw their wealth decline by 11% a day, according to a report released by Oxfam to mark the opening of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
EU wants end to member state veto on tax
The European Commission on Tuesday (15 January) proposed to end the veto power member states have over EU tax matters, an idea rejected by several smaller countries including low-tax hub Ireland.
Big member states are dividing the EU on digital agenda
Four countries - Germany, France, Italy and Spain - drafted a paper outlining their priorities ahead of last Friday’s (29 September) digital summit, where heads of state gathered in Estonia. Poland’s Digital Minister Krzysztof Szubert told EURACTIV.com their paper risks dividing EU member states on digital issues.
Tax fight draws divisions at EU digital summit
Supporters of a controversial new push to tax tech giants insist they will overcome fierce opposition from a group of around 10 member states.
Estonia confident politics won’t overshadow Tallinn ‘digital summit’
Estonia is hosting a summit focused on technology issues this Friday (29 September) but will have to battle for EU leaders’ attention less than one week after the German election, a fresh round of Brexit talks and French President Emmanuel Macron’s proposals on the future of Europe.
PM says time to end France’s addiction to spending
Prime Minister Édouard Philippe said on Tuesday (4 July) it was time to end France's addiction to easy public spending, promising to cut expenditures over the next five years and rein in debts he said were at an unacceptable level.
‘Partnerships in development’: We can do it
EURACTIV invited Emma Marcegaglia, President of BusinessEurope, Jacqueline Mugo, Secretary General of Business Africa, Pierre Gattaz, President of Medef, the largest employer federation of France, and Klaus Rudischhauser, EU Commission Deputy Director-General for International Cooperation and Development , to discuss the role of public-private partnerships in development.
ILO: Middle class at risk
The erosion of the middle class is worrying, because it particularly hurts young people, thus leading to an intergenerational gap. But it is even more worrisome, as it does not seem to have been taken seriously enough so far, said ILO senior economist Daniel Vaughan-Whitehead.
Tax cooperation key to UN post-2015 development goals
As the United Nations meet this year to agree their new post-2015 agenda for global development, tax fairness and the fight against illicit financial flows are high on the agenda, write Christian Haldenwang and Armin von Schiller.
Read my lips: No new taxes, says Hollande
French President François Hollande said on Thursday (6 November) that he would impose no new taxes on anyone in France next year, as he sought to shake off record-low approval ratings and bolster confidence halfway through a deeply unpopular presidency.
Slovak PM denounces ‘fashion’ of not paying taxes
Prime Minister Robert Fico said he regrets that it has become a “fashion” in Slovakia for companies not to pay their taxes. EURACTIV.sk reports.
Brussels and Budapest lock horns
Controversial legislation recently adopted by Hungary's ruling majority has apparently been straining relations with the European Commission since the country took over the rotating EU presidency at the beginning of the year.
EU firms nervous about new Hungarian laws, taxes
Fifteen large European firms have filed a complaint to the European Commission about hastily-adopted taxes in Hungary which they say threatens their activities in the country taking over the rotating EU Presidency. EURACTIV.hu reports from Budapest.
Bankers’ bonus tax hits first hurdle
Franco-British plans to introduce a one-off supertax on bankers' bonuses hit a snag when the asset management sector won exemption from a draft UK law after threatening to leave the country. A related European law could face similar difficulties.UK to refund HSBC taxes after EU ruling
British bank HSBC is in line for a 27 million sterling tax refund after the European Union's top court ruled a government stamp duty on new shares breaks EU law.
OECD welcomes changes to banking secrecy rules
Two EU countries and Switzerland last week (13 March) announced their intention to amend banking secrecy rules following pressure from the OECD and its members.Austria, Luxembourg and Switzerland to change bank secrecy rules
Two EU countries and Switzerland announced on Friday (13 March) their intention to amend banking secrecy rules in an effort to alter perceptions that they facilitate tax evasion.
Romania defies Commission by lifting alcohol duties
The lower chamber of the Romanian Parliament has unanimously voted to eliminate excise duty on traditional home-brewed hard drinks, despite the very fact that it is required to collect excise on home-brewed alcohol under the terms of its EU accession treaty.Green Light from the Emerald Isle? Questions and Answers about Ireland
"A 'no' in the Irish referendum would simply be a catastrophe for Europe," argue Dominik Hierlemann and Christian Heydecker of the Bertelsmann Stiftung.
De-regulated labour markets ‘much more dynamic’
Europe does not need more highly regulated job markets but rather increased investment in human capital if it is to meet the dual challenge of achieving both economic efficiency and social justice, Wolfgang Merkel, the director of the Social Science Research Centre in Berlin, told EURACTIV Slovakia in an interview.Pitfalls of harmonising the EU corporate tax base
Introducing a common corporate tax base as proposed by the Commission and backed by the upcoming French Presidency of the EU would be wrong and unfeasible, claim Sebastian Dullien and Daniela Schwarzer in a 13 April review for Eurozone Watch.
EU finance ministers to set sights on tax havens
Germany is expected to lead calls for tighter EU rules on tax havens during a meeting of EU finance ministers this Tuesday (4 March), in the wake of a tax evasion scandal that has spread from Germany across Europe to the US and beyond.